COS 167-7 - Predation on the early life stages of the crown-of-thorns starfish by damselfishes

Thursday, August 10, 2017: 3:40 PM
D139, Oregon Convention Center
Zara-Louise Cowan, ARC CoE Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia, Symon Dworjanyn, Southern Cross University, National Marine Science Centre, Coffs Harbour, Australia, Ciemon Caballes, James Cook University, ARC CoE for Coral Reef Studies, Townsville, Australia and Morgan S. Pratchett, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Townsville, Australia
Background/Question/Methods

Examining the functional response of predators can provide insight into the role of predation in structuring prey populations and ecological communities. This study explored feeding behaviour and functional responses of planktivorous damselfishes when offered captive reared larvae of crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster sp. with the aim of determining whether these predators could ever play a role in moderating outbreaks of Acanthaster sp. We examined predatory behaviour of 11 species of planktivorous damselfishes, testing (i) the relationship between predator size and predation rate, both within and among fish species, (ii) consumption rates on larvae of Acanthaster sp. vs. larvae of a common, co-occurring coral reef asteroid Linckia laevigata, (iii) maximal feeding rates upon both Acanthaster sp. and L. laevigata, and (iv) functional responses of planktivorous fishes to increasing densities of Acanthaster sp.

Results/Conclusions

Consumption rates of crown-of-thorns larvae by damselfishes was independent of predator size, however there was a significant negative relationship between predator size and consumption rate of L. laevigata, when pooling across all predatory species. Some damselfishes, including Acanthochromis polyacanthus and Amblyglyphidodon curacao, consumed larval Acanthaster sp. at a greater rate than for L. laevigata. Most predatory species (all except A. curacao and Pomacentrus amboinensis) exhibited a Type II functional response, whereby the increasing feeding rate decelerated with increasing prey density. In addition to revealing that a wide range of planktivorous fishes can prey upon larvae of Acanthaster sp., these data suggest that planktivorous damselfishes may have the capacity to buffer against population fluctuations of Acanthaster sp. Importantly, predators with Type II functional responses often contribute to stability of prey populations, though planktivorous fishes may be swamped by an abnormally high influx of larvae, potentially contributing to the characteristic population fluctuations of Acanthaster sp.