Klinard Natalie V, Mull Christopher G, Heithaus Michael R, MacNeil M Aaron
Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, 3000 NE 151st Street, North Miami, FL, 33181, USA.
Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2025 Aug 7. doi: 10.1111/brv.70065.
Sharks have often been perceived to play a critical role in the dynamics of coral reef ecosystems globally. Yet, there is relatively little evidence to support this idea across all but a limited set of species and contexts. Research on the roles and importance of reef sharks has been complicated by logistical challenges in collecting data on sharks compounded by widespread declines in shark populations and reef state due to anthropogenic stressors. However, a better understanding of ecological roles is essential to uncover when, where, how, and to what degree sharks contribute to the function of coral reefs. To address this lack of understanding, we present a standardized framework for determining the ecological roles of reef sharks, including how different streams of data related to movement ecology, trophic ecology, demographics, and ecological context can be combined within specific functional components that collectively define the ecological roles of reef sharks. A series of steps and questions are used to guide research on individual species and promote collection of necessary data. We explore what data in real-world examples can mean for uncovering roles and how data can be interpreted from a functional perspective. Although the framework is centred around breaking down ecological roles into simpler components, it forces researchers to complete a comprehensive evaluation of the animal's ecology and consider how data from each of these components complements each other in a broader context. The need for a detailed and directed approach for researchers to explore the mechanisms, patterns, and causes that comprise reef shark ecological roles is supported by a literature review showing expansive knowledge gaps that persist for most coral-reef-resident and smaller-bodied species. Existing research on the movement and trophic ecology of reef sharks is diverse and spans a broad range of topics and contexts, indicating potential for combining and re-evaluating existing data to improve current knowledge of roles. Resident species with relatively large amounts of published research included grey reef (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos), blacktip reef (Carcharhinus melanopterus), and whitetip reef sharks (Triaenodon obesus), which are among the most widely abundant sharks on coral reefs. As ongoing changes to coral reefs may alter rates of ecological processes, understanding the roles and importance of reef sharks will be crucial to predicting future reef states and enacting effective conservation and management strategies to preserve key functions.
鲨鱼通常被认为在全球珊瑚礁生态系统的动态变化中起着关键作用。然而，除了有限的一些物种和环境外，相对而言几乎没有证据支持这一观点。由于鲨鱼种群和珊瑚礁状态因人为压力源而普遍减少，收集鲨鱼数据面临后勤挑战，这使得对礁鲨作用和重要性的研究变得复杂。然而，更好地理解生态作用对于揭示鲨鱼在何时、何地、如何以及在何种程度上对珊瑚礁功能做出贡献至关重要。为了解决这种认识上的不足，我们提出了一个标准化框架，用于确定礁鲨的生态作用，包括如何将与运动生态学、营养生态学、种群统计学和生态背景相关的不同数据流在特定功能组件中进行整合，这些组件共同定义了礁鲨的生态作用。一系列步骤和问题用于指导对单个物种的研究，并促进必要数据的收集。我们探讨了现实世界例子中的数据对于揭示作用意味着什么，以及如何从功能角度解释数据。尽管该框架围绕将生态作用分解为更简单的组件展开，但它促使研究人员对动物的生态学进行全面评估，并考虑这些组件中的每一个数据在更广泛背景下如何相互补充。一项文献综述表明，对于大多数居住在珊瑚礁的小型物种，仍然存在广泛的知识空白，这支持了研究人员需要一种详细且有针对性的方法来探索构成礁鲨生态作用的机制、模式和原因。现有的关于礁鲨运动和营养生态学的研究多种多样，涵盖了广泛的主题和环境，这表明有可能整合和重新评估现有数据，以改善目前对其作用的认识。已发表研究相对较多的常驻物种包括灰礁鲨（Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos）、黑鳍礁鲨（Carcharhinus melanopterus）和白鳍礁鲨（Triaenodon obesus），它们是珊瑚礁上分布最广泛的鲨鱼之一。由于珊瑚礁的持续变化可能会改变生态过程的速率，了解礁鲨的作用和重要性对于预测未来珊瑚礁状态以及制定有效的保护和管理策略以保护关键功能至关重要。
