Reef-scale partitioning of cryptobenthic fish assemblages across the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Title
Reef-scale partitioning of cryptobenthic fish assemblages across the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Publication Date
2016
Author(s)
Goatley, Christopher
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2930-5591
Email: cgoatley@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:cgoatley
Gonzalez-Cabello, Alonso
Bellwood, David R
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Inter-Research
Place of publication
Germany
DOI
10.3354/meps11614
UNE publication id
une:20638
Abstract
Onshore to offshore gradients in marine assemblages have been well documented on coral reefs, with most studies showing a distinct separation between onshore and offshore locations. Here we use enclosed anaesthetic sampling of small, cryptobenthic reef fishes to assess changes in assemblage composition across the Great Barrier Reef continental shelf. The cryptobenthic fishes exhibited fine-scale partitioning across the shelf. Three dominant species of goby accounted for over 55% of all fishes collected, with 1 species characterising each of the 3 key shelf positions: inner-, mid- and outer-shelf. Multivariate analyses of assemblage composition revealed further separation of reefs within the inner- and mid-shelf positions, highlighting the exceptional sensitivity of cryptobenthic reef fish assemblages to shelf position, with a progressive separation of individual reef assemblages with distance from the shore. These among-reef patterns contrast markedly with other reef fish taxa which invariably show 2 broad assemblages across the continental shelf (inner- vs. a composite mid- and outer-shelf community). As a result of this exceptional sensitivity to environmental conditions, cryptobenthic reef fish communities may represent good subjects for high-resolution monitoring of disturbances on coral reefs.
Link
Citation
Marine Ecology Progress Series, v.544, p. 271-280
ISSN
1616-1599
0171-8630
Start page
271
End page
280

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