Document of dataset 8616

Dataset record

Type
Dataset
title in English
Hyperdominance and habitat composition drive reef fish foraging on Atlantic oceanic islands
Abstract in English

Spatial and temporal patterns of benthic community structure play a crucial role in shaping reef habitats and have a direct impact on fish foraging dynamics, alongside density-dependence effects on the whole community. In isolated oceanic islands, the relatively low fish species richness often leads to the hyperdominance of a few species and a general reduced trophic redundancy. However, the influence of benthic habitat features and hyperdominant species on foraging selection in oceanic islands has been largely overlooked. This study aimed to investigate, using Remote Underwater Videos (RUVs), whether reef fishes consistently forage on specific habitats across five different oceanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean, especially focusing on the importance of the role of hyperdominant species. We analysed 295 RUVs, within 2m2 areas (3-15 m deep), totalling 49 hours of video. Photoquadrats were utilised to gauge benthic group coverage in the same habitats. Our results revealed five prevalent habitats and six fish trophic groups interacting with reef benthos. The intensity of feeding pressure varied across islands, depending on the diversity of habitats. Herbivores and omnivores exhibited the highest feeding pressure, with omnivores foraging on crustose coralline algae and macroalgae habitats, while herbivores primarily fed on habitats dominated by the epilithic algal matrix. Hyperdominant species forage in multiple habitats, indicating a comparatively high degree of dietary plasticity. Our findings also demonstrated that fish feeding pressure is influenced by both habitat features and fish biomass. Therefore, our study can provide valuable insights for prioritising the management of key species in isolated oceanic reefs.

License
https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html
bibliographicCitation
Ferrari, D. S., Nunes, L. T., Mendes, T., Ferreira, C. E. L., & Floeter, S. R. (2023). Hyperdominance and habitat composition drive reef fish foraging on Atlantic oceanic islands [Data set]. Zenodo. https://zenodo.org/records/10190848
Release date
Jan 5 2024 2:21PM

Temporal coverage

Temporal
Start date
2015-01-01
End date
2015-01-01

Themes

theme
Biology > Fish

Ownerships

creator
Débora S Ferrari
creator
Federal University of Santa Catarina
creator
Lucas Nunes Teixeira
creator
Fluminense Federal University
creator
Thiago Mendes
creator
University of São Paulo
creator
Carlos Eduardo Leite Ferreira
creator
Fluminense Federal University
creator
Sergio Floeter
creator
Federal University of Santa Catarina

Dataset references

is part of
Reef fish communities of Mid-Atlantic ridge islands: Expeditions in Ascension (2015), Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (2018-2019), and Saint Helena (2023)

Projects

was generated by
MISSION ATLANTIC - Towards the Sustainable Development of the Atlantic Ocean: Mapping and Assessing the present and future status of Atlantic marine ecosystems under the influence of climate change and exploitation

Document metadata

date created
2024-07-02
date modified
2024-11-27