title: Determining trigger values of suspended sediment for behavioral changes in a coral reef fish.
abstract: Sediment from land use increases water turbidity and threatens the health of inshore coral reefs. This study performed experiments with a damselfish, Pomacentrus moluccensis, in four sediment treatments, control (0 mg l⁻¹), 10 mg l⁻¹ (∼1.7 NTU), 20 mg l⁻¹ (∼3.3 NTU) and 30 mg l⁻¹ (∼5 NTU), to determine when sediment triggers a change in habitat use and movement. We reviewed the literature to assess how frequently P. moluccensis would experience sub-optimal sediment conditions on the reef. Preference for live coral declined from 49.4% to 23.3% and movement between habitats declined from 2.1 to 0.4 times between 20 mg l⁻¹ and 30 mg l⁻¹, suggesting a sediment threshold for behavioral changes. Inshore areas of the Great Barrier Reef, P. moluccensis may encounter sub-optimal conditions between 8% and 53% of the time. Changes in these vital processes may have long-term effects on the persistence of populations, particularly as habitat loss on coral reefs increases.
authors: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia. amelia.wenger@my.jcu.edu.au
authors: Amelia S
authors: AS
authors: Wenger
authors: Mark I
authors: MI
authors: McCormick
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D057894:Coral Reefs; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000592:standards* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical