Ferreira Sofia B, Burns John H R, Fukunaga Atsuko, Tuttle Raz Lillian J, McKenna Sheila A, Annandale Kailea, Monello Ryan J
Marine Science and Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science, College of Natural and Health Sciences University of Hawai'i at Hilo Hilo Hawaii USA.
Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Honolulu Hawaii USA.
Ecol Evol. 2025 Sep 1;15(9):e71992. doi: 10.1002/ece3.71992. eCollection 2025 Sep.
The ongoing degradation of coral reef habitats is widely acknowledged to have adverse effects on the abundance and diversity of reef fish populations, yet the direct effects on ecosystem functions remain uncertain. This study used a quantitative approach to determine the mechanistic links between fish assemblages and ecological function. We investigated the effects of 3D habitat structure and coral morphology on the ecological, behavioral, and morphological functional traits of reef fish within a protected marine national park. Fish traits such as Gregariousness, Water Column Position, and Body Shape were identified to be highly influential in shaping the multidimensional fish functional space, which was categorized into 10 Fish Functional Groups (FFG). Furthermore, habitat complexity and coral morphology significantly explained the abundances of eight out of 10 FFG. Notably, the habitat complexity metrics of Slope and Surface Complexity, along with coral morphologies of Branching and Mounding types, emerged as the most influential habitat features across FFG. Pairing Compressiform species and Schooling Short/Deep species, for example, significantly increased in abundance on substrate with higher Slopes and increased percentages of branching coral cover. Additionally, Cryptic and Nocturnal species exhibited statistically significant associations with all coral morphologies and substrates with high trait values of Slope and Curvature. Elucidating ecological drivers of specific functional groups of reef fish is critical for determining how changes in reef composition and structure will alter fish assemblages. Broad scale patterns were also detected, suggesting that although structural complexity is important, live coral morphologies have a greater positive impact on reef fish functional groups. These findings have direct implications for conservation and monitoring efforts, offering valuable insights for predicting the impacts of environmental change on community dynamics and ecosystem functioning.
珊瑚礁栖息地的持续退化对礁鱼种群的数量和多样性产生不利影响，这一点已得到广泛认可，但对生态系统功能的直接影响仍不确定。本研究采用定量方法来确定鱼类群落与生态功能之间的机制联系。我们在一个受保护的海洋国家公园内，研究了三维栖息地结构和珊瑚形态对礁鱼的生态、行为和形态功能特征的影响。诸如群居性、水柱位置和体型等鱼类特征被确定为在塑造多维鱼类功能空间方面具有高度影响力，该功能空间被分为10个鱼类功能组（FFG）。此外，栖息地复杂性和珊瑚形态显著解释了10个FFG中8个的丰度。值得注意的是，坡度和表面复杂性的栖息地复杂性指标，以及分支和丘状类型的珊瑚形态，成为跨FFG最具影响力的栖息地特征。例如，配对的侧扁形物种和群聚短/深型物种，在坡度较高且分支珊瑚覆盖率增加的基质上丰度显著增加。此外，隐蔽性和夜行性物种与所有珊瑚形态以及具有高坡度和曲率特征值的基质表现出统计学上的显著关联。阐明礁鱼特定功能组的生态驱动因素对于确定珊瑚礁组成和结构的变化将如何改变鱼类群落至关重要。还检测到了广泛的模式，表明虽然结构复杂性很重要，但活珊瑚形态对礁鱼功能组有更大的积极影响。这些发现对保护和监测工作有直接影响，为预测环境变化对群落动态和生态系统功能的影响提供了有价值的见解。
