Lewis Sara M
Department of Zoology, Duke University, 27706, Durham, NC, USA.
Oecologia. 1985 Feb;65(3):370-375. doi: 10.1007/BF00378911.
The susceptibility of several tropical algal species to fish grazing was studied on the Belizean barrier reef off the Caribbean coast of Central America. Short-term transplant experiments indicate that plant species vary markedly in their rates of biomass loss to grazing by a shallow-water guild of herbivorous fishes. Algal species transplanted from habitats with low grazing pressure are highly susceptible to grazing, while species occurring in habitats with high herbivore densities are highly resistant to grazing. Algal species show differential susceptibility to grazing by two major components of the tropical herbivore guild, Acanthurus (surgeonfishes) and Sparisoma (parrotfishes).Variability in plant susceptibility to grazing by herbivorous fishes was not clearly correlated with morphological or chemical characteristics that have been previously suggested as plant defenses against herbivory. Plants found to be highly resistant to fish grazing, such as Halimeda, exhibit both morphological characteristics and secondary chemical compounds which do appear to reduce herbivory. In contrast, species of Caulerpa, Sargassum, Turbinaria, and Padina, which also possess alleged morphological and/or chemical defenses, are nevertheless highly susceptible to fish grazing.
在中美洲加勒比海岸的伯利兹堡礁上，研究了几种热带藻类物种对鱼类啃食的易感性。短期移植实验表明，不同植物物种因浅水食草鱼类群落的啃食而导致的生物量损失率差异显著。从低啃食压力栖息地移植来的藻类物种极易受到啃食影响，而在高食草动物密度栖息地出现的物种则对啃食具有高度抗性。藻类物种对热带食草动物群落的两个主要组成部分——刺尾鱼属（刺尾鱼）和锯唇鱼属（鹦嘴鱼）的啃食表现出不同的易感性。植物对食草鱼类啃食的易感性差异，与先前被认为是植物抵御食草作用的形态或化学特征并无明显关联。被发现对鱼类啃食具有高度抗性的植物，如仙掌藻，展现出的形态特征和次生化学物质似乎确实能减少食草作用。相比之下，同样具有所谓形态和/或化学防御机制的羽藻属、马尾藻属、旋叶藻属和团扇藻属物种，却极易受到鱼类啃食。
