TY - JOUR
T1 - Does reef architectural complexity influence resource availability for a large reef-dwelling invertebrate?
AU - Lozano-Álvarez, Enrique
AU - Luviano-Aparicio, Nelia
AU - Negrete-Soto, Fernando
AU - Barradas-Ortiz, Cecilia
AU - Aguíñiga-García, Sergio
AU - Morillo-Velarde, Piedad S.
AU - Álvarez-Filip, Lorenzo
AU - Briones-Fourzán, Patricia
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017
PY - 2017/10
Y1 - 2017/10
N2 - In coral reefs, loss of architectural complexity and its associated habitat degradation is expected to affect reef specialists in particular due to changes in resource availability. We explored whether these features could potentially affect populations of a large invertebrate, the spotted spiny lobster Panulirus guttatus, which is an obligate Caribbean coral reef-dweller with a limited home range. We selected two separate large coral reef patches in Puerto Morelos (Mexico) that differed significantly in structural complexity and level of degradation, as assessed via the rugosity index, habitat assessment score, and percent cover of various benthic components. On each reef, we estimated density of P. guttatus and sampled lobsters to analyze their stomach contents, three different condition indices, and stable isotopes (δ15N and δ13C) in muscle. Lobster density did not vary with reef, suggesting that available crevices in the less complex patch still provided adequate refuge to these lobsters. Lobsters consumed many food types, dominated by mollusks and crustaceans, but proportionally more crustaceans (herbivore crabs) in the less complex patch, which had more calcareous macroalgae and algal turf. Lobsters from both reefs had a similar condition (all three indices) and mean δ15N, suggesting a similar quality of diet between reefs related to their opportunistic feeding, but differed in mean δ13C values, reflecting the different carbon sources between reefs and providing indirect evidence of individuals of P. guttatus foraging exclusively over their home reef. Overall, we found no apparent effects of architectural complexity, at least to the degree observed in our less complex patch, on density, condition, or trophic level of P. guttatus.
AB - In coral reefs, loss of architectural complexity and its associated habitat degradation is expected to affect reef specialists in particular due to changes in resource availability. We explored whether these features could potentially affect populations of a large invertebrate, the spotted spiny lobster Panulirus guttatus, which is an obligate Caribbean coral reef-dweller with a limited home range. We selected two separate large coral reef patches in Puerto Morelos (Mexico) that differed significantly in structural complexity and level of degradation, as assessed via the rugosity index, habitat assessment score, and percent cover of various benthic components. On each reef, we estimated density of P. guttatus and sampled lobsters to analyze their stomach contents, three different condition indices, and stable isotopes (δ15N and δ13C) in muscle. Lobster density did not vary with reef, suggesting that available crevices in the less complex patch still provided adequate refuge to these lobsters. Lobsters consumed many food types, dominated by mollusks and crustaceans, but proportionally more crustaceans (herbivore crabs) in the less complex patch, which had more calcareous macroalgae and algal turf. Lobsters from both reefs had a similar condition (all three indices) and mean δ15N, suggesting a similar quality of diet between reefs related to their opportunistic feeding, but differed in mean δ13C values, reflecting the different carbon sources between reefs and providing indirect evidence of individuals of P. guttatus foraging exclusively over their home reef. Overall, we found no apparent effects of architectural complexity, at least to the degree observed in our less complex patch, on density, condition, or trophic level of P. guttatus.
KW - Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes
KW - Caribbean Sea
KW - Coral reef degradation
KW - Panulirus guttatus
KW - Spotted spiny lobster
KW - Stomach contents
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85028675647&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.seares.2017.08.010
DO - 10.1016/j.seares.2017.08.010
M3 - Artículo
SN - 1385-1101
VL - 128
SP - 84
EP - 91
JO - Journal of Sea Research
JF - Journal of Sea Research
ER -