Caught in the middle: combined impacts of shark removal and coral loss on the fish communities of coral reefs

Due to human activities, marine and terrestrial ecosystems face a future where disturbances are predicted to occur at a frequency and severity unprecedented in the recent past. Of particular concern is the ability of systems to recover where multiple stressors act simultaneously. We examine this iss...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2013-09, Vol.8 (9), p.e74648-e74648
Main Authors: Ruppert, Jonathan L W, Travers, Michael J, Smith, Luke L, Fortin, Marie-Josée, Meekan, Mark G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anthozoa - physiology
Anthropogenic factors
Australia
Carnivores
Conservation biology
Conservation of Natural Resources
Coral bleaching
Coral reef ecosystems
Coral Reefs
Corals
Cyclones
Disturbances
Ecology
Ecosystem biology
Emergency preparedness
Evolutionary biology
Fish
Fisheries
Fishes
Fishes - physiology
Fishing
Fishing (Recreation)
Food chains
Herbivores
Human influences
Humans
Marine
Marine ecosystems
Oceans
Reefs
Scales
Science
Sharks
Sharks - physiology
Species Specificity
Studies
Terrestrial ecosystems
Terrestrial environments
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Summary:Due to human activities, marine and terrestrial ecosystems face a future where disturbances are predicted to occur at a frequency and severity unprecedented in the recent past. Of particular concern is the ability of systems to recover where multiple stressors act simultaneously. We examine this issue in the context of a coral reef ecosystem where increases in stressors, such as fisheries, benthic degradation, cyclones and coral bleaching, are occurring at global scales. By utilizing long-term (decadal) monitoring programs, we examined the combined effects of chronic (removal of sharks) and pulse (cyclones, bleaching) disturbances on the trophic structure of coral reef fishes at two isolated atoll systems off the coast of northwest Australia. We provide evidence consistent with the hypothesis that the loss of sharks can have an impact that propagates down the food chain, potentially contributing to mesopredator release and altering the numbers of primary consumers. Simultaneously, we show how the effects of bottom-up processes of bleaching and cyclones appear to propagate up the food chain through herbivores, planktivores and corallivores, but do not affect carnivores. Because their presence may promote the abundance of herbivores, the removal of sharks by fishing has implications for both natural and anthropogenic disturbances involving the loss of corals, as herbivores are critical to the progress and outcome of coral recovery.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0074648