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Comparative diversity of anemone-associated fishes and decapod crustaceans in a Belizean coral reef and seagrass system

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Abstract

Within tropical coastal habitats such as coral reefs and seagrass meadows, sea anemones (Actiniaria) provide microhabitats for a diverse range of fauna. However, the mechanisms that enable these interactions, and how actiniarian diversity and abundance mediates associate assemblages, remains poorly understood. Here, we compared sea anemone species richness and abundance with that of their associated decapod crustaceans and teleost fishes across adjacent coral reef and seagrass habitats at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize. At least 16 decapod and seven fish species were associated with anemones across both habitats, including several previously undocumented associations. While overall anemone-associate richness did not differ between habitats, seagrass anemones had the greatest mean abundance and diversity of both decapod and fish associates. This suggests that the importance of anemones as microhabitat reflected broader benthic complexity and shelter availability, with species aggregating on sea anemones when access to alternative shelter, such as corals, was limited. Patterns of associate distributions on anemones were also highly structured, in terms of both associate and anemone species, with these patterns likely reflecting a combination of associate specialization, intraspecific competition, and anemone morphology and toxicity. The diverse multi-species associate complexes observed suggest that sea anemones provide an important refuge for both specialized and generalist species and so have the potential to increase faunal diversity and abundance within tropical coastal habitats.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the editor and three anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions on this manuscript. Thanks to the Smithsonian Institution and the Carrie Bow Cay Field Station, Z. Foltz, S & J Alanko, Z-L Cowan, and D Dixson for assistance and logistical support. Permission to conduct this study was granted under Marine Science Research Permit 0009-18, issued by the Belize Fisheries Department. This manuscript represents CCRE contribution 1025.

Funding

This work was supported by National Geographic Explorer Grant to RMB (9860-16).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia

    Rohan M. Brooker

  2. Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

    Rohan M. Brooker & Douglas P. Chivers

  3. Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia

    William E. Feeney

  4. School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    William E. Feeney

  5. College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

    Tiffany L. Sih

  6. ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

    Tiffany L. Sih

  7. Department of Biomedical Sciences, WCVM, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

    Maud. C. O. Ferrari

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  1. Rohan M. Brooker
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  2. William E. Feeney
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  3. Tiffany L. Sih
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  4. Maud. C. O. Ferrari
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Correspondence to Rohan M. Brooker.

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All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed by the authors.

Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities and are mentioned in the acknowledgements, if applicable.

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Communicated by B. W. Hoeksema

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Brooker, R.M., Feeney, W.E., Sih, T.L. et al. Comparative diversity of anemone-associated fishes and decapod crustaceans in a Belizean coral reef and seagrass system. Mar. Biodivers. 49, 2609–2620 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-019-00993-5

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