Marine Ecology Progress Series
MEPS is a leading hybrid research journal on all aspects of marine, coastal and estuarine ecology. Priority is given to outstanding research that advances our ecological understanding.
Impact Factor2.1 (JCR 2025 release)
Article Acceptance Rate52.2% (2024)
Average Time in Review216 days (2024)
Total Annual Downloads2.931.330 (2025)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14633
copiedEcological drivers of parrotfish coral predation vary across spatial scales
- Hannah S. Rempel
- Kelly N. Bodwin
- Deron E. Burkepile
- Thomas C. Adam
- Andrew H. Altieri
- Emma M. Barton
- Roxanne-Liana Francisca
- Maurice C. Goodman
- Rachael J. Lamore
- Marilla Lippert
- Marietta Marroquín
- Tara C. O’Rourke
- Peter D. VanderBloomer
- Benjamin I. Ruttenberg
ABSTRACT: Parrotfishes (Labridae: Scarini) are widely recognized for their important functional role in reducing coral-algae competition by grazing algae, yet some species are also coral predators (corallivores) and thereby have direct negative impacts on corals they prey upon. To better understand the ecological drivers of parrotfish corallivory intensity, we compared patterns of relative predation scar size and abundance across spatial scales from individual coral colonies (<1 to several meters in size), to reefs within islands (1 to 10s of km), to 4 regions across the Greater Caribbean (100s to 1000s of km) including Panamá, Florida, St. Croix, and Bonaire. Across reef sites, there was a positive correlation of both parrotfish density and biomass with the relative coral area preyed upon, but not predation scar abundance. While there was no apparent site-level effect of coral cover on corallivory intensity, we found that the abundance of colonies preyed upon was positively correlated with both coral diversity and the proportional cover of frequently targeted coral taxa within localized 30 m2 reef areas. At the scale of individual coral colonies, we found that while numerous coral taxa were preyed upon, corallivory was concentrated on a few species across regions, such as Orbicella spp., Porites spp., and Stephanocoenia intersepta. Our findings suggest that while increased parrotfish densities may result in an increased coral area preyed upon across reefs, corallivory intensity within reefs may decrease in response to declines in the cover of frequently targeted coral taxa and overall coral diversity.
Spanish and Papiamentu versions of the abstract are provided in the Supplement at www.int-res.com/articles/suppl/m740p145_supp.pdf
KEYWORDS
Hannah S. Rempel (Corresponding Author)
- Department of Marine Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, TX 78373, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
Kelly N. Bodwin (Co-author)
- Department of Statistics, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
Deron E. Burkepile (Co-author)
- Marine Science Institute, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, & Marine Biology, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
Thomas C. Adam (Co-author)
- Marine Science Institute, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
Andrew H. Altieri (Co-author)
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancón, Panamá 0801, Republic of Panamá
Emma M. Barton (Co-author)
- Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
Roxanne-Liana Francisca (Co-author)
- Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands
Maurice C. Goodman (Co-author)
- Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
- Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
Rachael J. Lamore (Co-author)
- Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
Marilla Lippert (Co-author)
- Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
- Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
- Center for Coastal Marine Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407-0401, USA
Marietta Marroquín (Co-author)
- ECOspiral, Xenimajuyú Community, Tecpán 4006, Guatemala
Tara C. O’Rourke (Co-author)
- Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
Peter D. VanderBloomer (Co-author)
- Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
Benjamin I. Ruttenberg (Co-author)
- Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
- Center for Coastal Marine Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407-0401, USA