title: Fishing down nutrients on coral reefs.
abstract: Fishing is widely considered a leading cause of biodiversity loss in marine environments, but the potential effect on ecosystem processes, such as nutrient fluxes, is less explored. Here, we test how fishing on Caribbean coral reefs influences biodiversity and ecosystem functions provided by the fish community, that is, fish-mediated nutrient capacity. Specifically, we modelled five processes of nutrient storage (in biomass) and supply (via excretion) of nutrients, as well as a measure of their multifunctionality, onto 143 species of coral reef fishes across 110 coral reef fish communities. These communities span a gradient from extreme fishing pressure to protected areas with little to no fishing. We find that in fished sites fish-mediated nutrient capacity is reduced almost 50%, despite no substantial changes in the number of species. Instead, changes in community size and trophic structure were the primary cause of shifts in ecosystem function. These findings suggest that a broader perspective that incorporates predictable impacts of fishing pressure on ecosystem function is imperative for effective coral reef conservation and management.
authors.affiliation: 1122 NE Boat St. School of Aquatic and Fisheries Science, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA.
authors.forename: Jacob E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Allgeier
authors.affiliation: Oceans Program, Center for Biological Diversity, San Francisco, California 945612, USA.
authors.forename: Abel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valdivia
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, Florida 34949, USA.
authors.forename: Courtney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.affiliation: 127 David Clark Labs, Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA.
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Layman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018533:Biomass; D017691:Caribbean Region; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D057894:Coral Reefs; D017753:Ecosystem; D005398:Fisheries; D005399:Fishes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005502:Food; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*