Department of Zoology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2012;7(2):e31374. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031374. Epub 2012 Feb 27.
Large-bodied reef fishes represent an economically and ecologically important segment of the coral reef fish assemblage. Many of these individuals supply the bulk of the reproductive output for their population and have a disproportionate effect on their environment (e.g. as apex predators or bioeroding herbivores). Large-bodied reef fishes also tend to be at greatest risk of overfishing, and their loss can result in a myriad of either cascading (direct) or indirect trophic and other effects. While many studies have investigated habitat characteristics affecting populations of small-bodied reef fishes, few have explored the relationship between large-bodied species and their environment. Here, we describe the distribution of the large-bodied reef fishes in the Mariana Archipelago with an emphasis on the environmental factors associated with their distribution. Of the factors considered in this study, a negative association with human population density showed the highest relative influence on the distribution of large-bodied reef fishes; however, depth, water temperature, and distance to deep water also were important. These findings provide new information on the ecology of large-bodied reef fishes can inform discussions concerning essential fish habitat and ecosystem-based management for these species and highlight important knowledge gaps worthy of additional research.
大型珊瑚礁鱼类是珊瑚礁鱼类组合中具有经济和生态重要性的一部分。这些个体中的许多为其种群提供了大部分繁殖输出，并对其环境产生了不成比例的影响（例如作为顶级捕食者或生物侵蚀食草动物）。大型珊瑚礁鱼类也往往面临过度捕捞的最大风险，它们的损失可能导致一系列（直接）或间接的营养和其他影响。虽然许多研究已经调查了影响小体型珊瑚礁鱼类种群的栖息地特征，但很少有研究探索大型物种与其环境之间的关系。在这里，我们描述了马里亚纳群岛大型珊瑚礁鱼类的分布情况，并重点介绍了与它们分布相关的环境因素。在本研究中考虑的因素中，与人口密度呈负相关的因素对大型珊瑚礁鱼类的分布影响最大；然而，水深、水温以及与深水区的距离也很重要。这些发现为大型珊瑚礁鱼类的生态学提供了新的信息，可以为这些物种的重要鱼类栖息地和基于生态系统的管理讨论提供信息，并突出了值得进一步研究的重要知识空白。
