Linking fishes to multiple metrics of coral reef structural complexity using three-dimensional technology

Authors

M. González-Rivero, University of Queensland
Alastair R. Harborne, University of Queensland; Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International UniversityFollow
A. Herrera-Reveles, Universidad Central de Venezuela
Y. M. Bozec, University of Queensland
A. Rogers, University of Queensland
A. Friedman, Greybits Engineering; University of Sydney
A. Ganase, University of Queensland
O. Hoegh-Guldberg, University of Queensland

Date of this Version

10-25-2017

Document Type

Article

Rights

by

Abstract

Structural complexity strongly influences biodiversity and ecosystem productivity. On coral reefs, structural complexity is typically measured using a single and small-scale metric (‘rugosity’) that represents multiple spatial attributes differentially exploited by species, thus limiting a complete understanding of how fish associate with reef structure. We used a novel approach to compare relationships between fishes and previously unavailable components of reef complexity, and contrasted the results against the traditional rugosity index. This study focused on damselfish to explore relationships between fishes and reef structure. Three territorial species, with contrasting trophic habits and expected use of the reef structure, were examined to infer the potential species-specific mechanisms associated with how complexity influences habitat selection. Three-dimensional reef reconstructions from photogrammetry quantified the following metrics of habitat quality: 1) visual exposure to predators and competitors, 2) density of predation refuges and 3) substrate-related food availability. These metrics explained the species distribution better than the traditional measure of rugosity, and each species responded to different complexity components. Given that a critical effect of reef degradation is loss of structure, adopting three-dimensional technologies potentially offers a new tool to both understand species-habitat association and help forecast how fishes will be affected by the flattening of reefs.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Comments

Originally published in Scientific Reports.

Identifier

FIDC006370

Recommended Citation

González-Rivero, M.; Harborne, Alastair R.; Herrera-Reveles, A.; Bozec, Y. M.; Rogers, A.; Friedman, A.; Ganase, A.; and Hoegh-Guldberg, O., "Linking fishes to multiple metrics of coral reef structural complexity using three-dimensional technology" (2017). Center for Coastal Oceans Research Faculty Publications. 20.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/merc_fac/20