Fishing, trophic cascades, and the process of grazing on coral reefs

Peter J. Mumby, Craig P. Dahlgren, Alastair R. Harborne, Carrie V. Kappel, Fiorenza Micheli, Daniel R. Brumbaugh, Katherine E. Holmes, Judith M. Mendes, Kenneth Broad, James N. Sanchirico, Kevin Buch, Steve Box, Richard W. Stoffle, Andrew B. Gill

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

719 Scopus citations

Abstract

Since the mass mortality of the urchin Diadema antillarum in 1983, parrotfishes have become the dominant grazer on Caribbean reefs. The grazing capacity of these fishes could be impaired if marine reserves achieve their long-term goal of restoring large consumers, several of which prey on parrotfishes. Here we compare the negative impacts of enhanced predation with the positive impacts of reduced fishing mortality on parrotfishes inside reserves. Because large-bodied parrotfishes escape the risk of predation from a large piscivore (the Nassau grouper), the predation effect reduced grazing by only 4 to 8%. This impact was overwhelmed by the increase in density of large parrotfishes, resulting in a net doubling of grazing. Increased grazing caused a fourfold reduction in the cover of macroalgae, which, because they are the principal competitors of corals, highlights the potential importance of reserves for coral reef resilience.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)98-101
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume311
Issue number5757
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 6 2006

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Fishing, trophic cascades, and the process of grazing on coral reefs'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this