Patterns in fish response to seagrass bed loss at the southern Ryukyu Islands, Japan |
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Authors: | Yohei Nakamura |
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Institution: | (1) Graduate School of Kuroshio Science, Kochi University, 200 Monobe, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8502, Japan |
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Abstract: | An extensive seagrass bed on a fringing coral reef at Amitori Bay (southern Ryukyu Islands) disappeared completely in 2009
after a typhoon. Seagrass bed loss had a significant negative influence on not only seagrass bed residents but also commercially
important coral reef fishes that utilize seagrass beds as nurseries or feeding grounds. With seagrass bed loss, mean species’
richness and densities of overall seagrass bed fishes per transect decreased by more than 75 and 85%, respectively. Most of
the affected fishes were benthivores, piscivores, detritivores, and herbivores. Of 21 dominant species, 13 disappeared completely
and 4 showed severe reductions in densities following seagrass bed loss, whereas the densities of 4 bottom-dwelling gobies
did not change significantly. Thus, this study demonstrated that most seagrass bed fishes lack the ability to adapt to seagrass
habitat loss, suggesting that increasing global seagrass loss will cause serious reductions in seagrass-associated fishes
and fishery resources. |
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