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...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3776739?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1824032532022165504 |
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| author | Jonathan L W Ruppert Michael J Travers Luke L Smith Marie-Josée Fortin Mark G Meekan |
| author_facet | Jonathan L W Ruppert Michael J Travers Luke L Smith Marie-Josée Fortin Mark G Meekan |
| author_sort | Jonathan L W Ruppert |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T18:18:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5ddddf44168a4066a62dd1888cc88dde |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T18:18:43Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-5ddddf44168a4066a62dd1888cc88dde2022-12-21T19:30:19ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0189e7464810.1371/journal.pone.0074648Caught in the middle: combined impacts of shark removal and coral loss on the fish communities of coral reefs.Jonathan L W RuppertMichael J TraversLuke L SmithMarie-Josée FortinMark G MeekanDue 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.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3776739?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Jonathan L W Ruppert Michael J Travers Luke L Smith Marie-Josée Fortin Mark G Meekan Caught in the middle: combined impacts of shark removal and coral loss on the fish communities of coral reefs. PLoS ONE |
| title | Caught in the middle: combined impacts of shark removal and coral loss on the fish communities of coral reefs. |
| title_full | Caught in the middle: combined impacts of shark removal and coral loss on the fish communities of coral reefs. |
| title_fullStr | Caught in the middle: combined impacts of shark removal and coral loss on the fish communities of coral reefs. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Caught in the middle: combined impacts of shark removal and coral loss on the fish communities of coral reefs. |
| title_short | Caught in the middle: combined impacts of shark removal and coral loss on the fish communities of coral reefs. |
| title_sort | caught in the middle combined impacts of shark removal and coral loss on the fish communities of coral reefs |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3776739?pdf=render |
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