![]() Baseline understanding of predator spatial distribution and species life history proves necessary in a paradigm where optimisation of conservation outcomes necessitates ground truthing of ecosystem dynamics. Knowledge of the effects of predator removal and trophic ecology on reefs remains a contemporary issue due to its conservation implications. Globally, the removal of predators through overfishing can destabilise food webs through mesopredator release and herbivore suppression that leads to altered trophic function. Predator species influence prey behaviour and remove prey items from ecosystems, regulating the composition of, and dynamics within prey assemblages. Coral reefs provide ecosystem services to top predators, and predatory fishes play an important role in overall ecosystem function and health. In terrestrial and marine ecological systems, top-order predators act to shape trophic structures below them. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. įunding: This work was funded through the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program (NESP) and Parks Australia.Ĭompeting interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.ĭata Availability: The data used in the paper can be accessed at. Received: AugAccepted: FebruPublished: March 24, 2022Ĭopyright: © 2022 Brown et al. PLoS ONE 17(3):Įditor: Fraser Andrew Januchowski-Hartley, Swansea University, UNITED KINGDOM This work adds to the growing body of literature highlighting the conservation value of isolated oceanic reefs and the need to ensure that lagoon, shallow and mesophotic habitats in these systems are adequately protected, as they support vulnerable ecologically and economically important predator fish assemblages.Ĭitation: Brown K, Monk J, Williams J, Carroll A, Harasti D, Barrett N (2022) Depth and benthic habitat influence shallow and mesophotic predatory fishes on a remote, high-latitude coral reef. Biomass of predatory fishes in the more sheltered north habitats was twice that of other areas, predominantly driven by high abundances of Galapagos shark. The more exposed southern aspect of the reef supported a different suite of predator fish across mesophotic habitats relative to the assemblage recorded in the north and lagoonal habitats, a pattern potentially driven by differences in hard coral cover. A higher richness of predator fish species was sampled on reef areas north and south of the lagoon. Notably, Galapagos shark ( Carcharhinus galapagensis) and the protected black rockcod ( Epinephelus daemelii) dominated the predator fish assemblage. Carcharhinid sharks and Carangid fishes were the most abundant predators sampled on Middleton Reef, with five predatory fishes accounting for over 90% of the predator fish biomass. Many predatory fish demonstrated clear depth and habitat associations over this depth range. Here we used baited remote underwater stereo video to sample predatory fishes across lagoon and outer shelf habitats from depths 0–100 m, extending knowledge on use of mesophotic depths and habitats. Middleton Reef is a remote, high-latitude, oceanic platform reef that is located within a no-take area in the Lord Howe Marine Park off eastern Australia. However, the spatial distribution and extent of predatory fishes on outer mesophotic shelf environments has remained under described. Current knowledge of predatory fish populations has been derived from targeted shallow diver-based surveys (<15 m). Remote atolls and platform reefs provide potential refugia for predator populations, but quantitative information on their spatial distribution is required to establish accurate baselines for ongoing monitoring and conservation management. Predatory fishes on coral reefs continue to decline globally despite playing key roles in ecosystem functioning. ![]()
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