Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ttngx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-13T08:58:58.646Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Long-term spatiotemporal variations in coral-reef fish community structure and fishing at a South Pacific atoll

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2009

Thierry Lison de Loma ,
Pascale Chabanet ,
Jocelyne Ferraris ,
René Galzin  and
Mireille Harmelin-Vivien
Thierry Lison de Loma
Affiliation:
CRIOBE, Centre de Recherches insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environnement, UMS 2978, CNRS-EPHE, BP 1013, Papetoai, Moorea, French Polynesia
Pascale Chabanet
Affiliation:
UR 128, CoRéUs-IRD, Nouméa, New-Caledonia
Jocelyne Ferraris
Affiliation:
UR 128, CoRéUs-IRD, Nouméa, New-Caledonia UR 128 CoRéUs-IRD, BP 529 Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
René Galzin
Affiliation:
CRIOBE, Centre de Recherches insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environnement, UMS 2978, CNRS-EPHE, BP 1013, Papetoai, Moorea, French Polynesia UMR 5244, CNRS–EPHE, Université de Perpignan, 66860 Perpignan, France
Mireille Harmelin-Vivien
Affiliation:
Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, UMR CNRS 6540, Station marine d'Endoume, 13007 Marseille, France
Get access

Abstract

In many atolls of the South Pacific, a shift has occurred in the past couple of decades from traditional to more intensive fishing practices. Increasing fishing pressure on coral reefs raises the need for long-term studies to understand how fish communities react to fishing practice changes. The objective of this study was to analyse the variations of reef fish communities (in terms of species richness, diversity, density and structure) during a long time lapse at Tikehau atoll (Tuamotu archipelago, French Polynesia). The same eight lagoon pinnacles were sampled in 1987 and 2003 at 6 and 12 m depth. Quantitative data were collected by visual census techniques (UVC) on 50 m × 5 m belt transects. Analyses were conducted using a multiple spatial scale (depth, pinnacle and whole lagoon) approach with a particular attention on commercial species such as Scaridae (parrotfish), Acanthuridae (surgeonfish), Lutjanidae (snapper), Lethrinidae (emperor), Serranidae (grouper). Despite an increased sampling effort between 1987 and 2003, the mean species richness per transect decreased significantly from 26.2 ± 6.2 to 21.6 ± 9.6. The mean diversity varied similarly. A stronger decrease happened at pinnacles close to the village, where fish density also decreased. Conversely, fish density, species richness and diversity increased at pinnacles less visited by inhabitants. The community structure shifted from commercial species to small site-attached species e.g. Pomacentridae (damselfish), Ptereleotridae (dartfish) as fishing reduced the abundance (and biomass) of targeted stocks. We argue that these spatiotemporal variations resulted from a drastic change in fishing practices over the 16 years period, that shifted a sustainable fishery using traditional fish traps to an unbalanced, species-threatening, selective fishery. This study underlines the need for management and for the implementation of marine protected areas (including no-take zones) in order to protect the coral reef ecosystem and favor sustainable fisheries at Tikehau atoll.

Keywords

Coral reef fish communitiesDiversity decreaseSpecies richnessDensityFishingSouth Pacific
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 22 , Issue 3 , July 2009 , pp. 281 - 290
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD, 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alcala, A.C., Russ, G.R., Maypa, A.P., Calumpong, H.P., 2005, A long-term, spatially replicated experimental test of the effect of marine reserves on local fish yields. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 62, 98–108. CrossRef
Bell, J.D., Galzin, R., 1984, Influence of live coral cover on coral-reef fish communities. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 15, 265–274. CrossRef
Benzecri J.P., 1973, L'analyse des données. II. L'analyse des correspondances. Dunod, Paris.
Blanchet G., Caillaud L., Paoaafaite J., 1985, Un aspect de la pêche artisanale en Polynésie française : les pièges à poissons de Tikehau. ORSTOM Tahiti Notes Doc. Océanogr. 25.
Bozec, Y.-M., Dolédec, S., Kulbicki, M., 2005, An analysis of fish-habitat associations on disturbed coral reefs: chaetodontid fishes in New Caledonia. J. Fish Biol. 66, 966–982. CrossRef
Caillart B., 1988, Etude d'une pêcherie artisanale de l'archipel des Tuamotu (Polynésie Française). Biologie, éthologie et dynamique des populations d'une espèce caractéristique: Naso brevirostris (Poissons – Acanthuridae). ORSTOM Tahiti Notes Doc. Océanogr. 38.
Caillart, B., Morize, E, 1986, Contribution à l'étude de l'atoll de Tikehau, III. La production de la pêcherie de l'atoll en 1985. ORSTOM Tahiti Notes Doc. Océanogr. 30, 45–71.
Caillart B., Morize E., 1988, Biology and reproduction strategy of Naso brevirostris and relationships with fishery yields. Proc. Workshop Pacific Inshore Fish. Research. Noumea, New Caledonia.
Caillart, B., Franc de Ferrière, M., Morize, E., 1986, Contribution à l'étude de l'atoll de Tikehau, III. Croissance de deux espèces du lagon, Lethrinus miniatus (Schneider) et Lutjanus fulvus (Schneider), évaluée par la lecture des otolithes. ORSTOM Tahiti Notes Doc. Océanogr. 30, 1–44.
Caillart, B., Harmelin-Vivien, M.L., Galzin, R., Morize, E., 1994, Tikehau: an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago (French Polynesia). Part III. Reef fish communities and fishery yields of Tikehau atoll (Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia) Atoll Res. Bull. 415, 1–38.
Chabanet, P., 2002, Coral reef fish communities of Mayotte (western Indian Ocean) two years after the impact of the 1998 bleaching event. Mar. Freshw. Res. 53, 107–113. CrossRef
Chabanet P., Bigot L., Naim O., Garnier R., Moyne-Picard M., 2002, Coral reef monitoring at Reunion Island (Western Indian Ocean). Proc. 9th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Bali 2, pp. 873–878.
Dufour P., Harmelin-Vivien M., 1997, Research program for typology of atoll lagoons: strategy and fish results. Proc. 8th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Panama 1, 843–848.
Galzin R., 1985, Ecologie des poissons récifaux de Polynésie Française. PhD Thesis, Univ. Montpellier.
Galzin, R., 1987, Structure of fish communities of French Polynesian coral reefs. 1. Spatial scales. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 41, 129–136. CrossRef
Graham, N.A., Mc Clanahan, T.R., Letourneur, Y., Galzin, R., 2007, Anthropogenic stressors, inter-specific competition and ENSO effects on a Mauritius coral reef. Environ. Biol. Fish. 78, 57–69. CrossRef
Harmelin-Vivien, M.L., 1984, L'atoll de Tikehau (Archipel des Tuamotu, Polynésie Française), premiers resultats. Distribution quantitative des poissons herbivores dans les formations coralliennes de Tikehau (Polynésie Française). ORSTOM Tahiti Notes Doc. Océanogr. 22, 81–107.
Harmelin-Vivien, M.L., Harmelin, J.G., Chauvet, C., Duval, C., Galzin, R., Lejeune, P., Barnabé, G., Blanc, F., Chevalier, R., Duclerc, J., Lasserre, G., 1985, Evaluation visuelle des peuplements et populations de poissons : méthodes et problèmes. Rev. Ecol. (Terre Vie) 40, 467–539.
Jennings, S., Polunin, N.V.C., 1997, Impacts of predator depletion by fishing on the biomass and diversity of non-target reef fish communities. Coral Reefs 16, 71–82. CrossRef
Letourneur, Y., Harmelin-Vivien, M., Galzin, R., 1993, Impact of hurricane “Firinga” on fish community structure on fringing reefs of Reunion Island, S.W. Indian Ocean. Environ. Biol. Fish 37, 109–120. CrossRef
Lison De Loma, T., Osenberg, C., Shima, J. S., Chancerelle, Y., Davies, N., Brooks, A. J., Galzin, R., 2008, A framework for assessing impact of Marine Protected Areas in Moorea (French Polynesia). Pac. Sci. 62, 427–438.
Mc Manus, J.W., 1997, Tropical marine fisheries and the future of coral reefs: a brief review with emphasis on Southern Asia. Coral Reefs 16, 121–127. CrossRef
Mellin, C., Ferraris, J., Galzin, R., Kulbicki, M., Ponton, D., 2006, Diversity of coral reef fish assemblages: modelling of the species richness spectra from multi-scale environmental variables in the Tuamotu Archipelago (French Polynesia). Ecol. Model. 198, 409–425. CrossRef
Mellin, C, Ferraris, J., Galzin, R., Harmelin-Vivien, M., Kulbicki, M., Lison de Loma, T., 2008, Natural and anthropogenic influences on the diversity structure of reef fish communities in the Tuamotu Achipelago (French Polynesia). Ecol. Model. 218, 182–187. CrossRef
Morize, E., 1984, L'atoll de Tikehau (Archipel des Tuamotu, Polynésie Française), premiers résultats. Contribution à l'étude d'une pêcherie artisanale et de la dynamique des populations des principales espèces exploitées. ORSTOM Tahiti Notes Doc. Océanogr. 22, 35–80.
Morize E., 1985, Étude d'une pêcherie artisanale de l'atoll de Tikehau (Archipel des Tuamotu, Polynésie Française). Proc. 5th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Tahiti 5, 501–506.
Morize, E., Caillart, B., 1987, Contribution à l'étude de l'atoll de Tikehau, IV. Modélisation de la croissance d'Epinephelus microdon (Bleeker) obtenue à partir de marquage. ORSTOM Tahiti Notes Doc. Océanogr. 35, 101–114.
Morize, E., Galzin, R., Harmelin-Vivien, M., Arnaudin, H., 1990, Organisation spatiale du peuplement ichtyologique dans le lagon de l'atoll de Tikehau (Polynésie française). ORSTOM Tahiti Notes Doc. Océanogr. 40, 40–44.
Polunin N.V.C., Roberts C., 1996, Reef Fisheries. Chapman & Hall, London.
Russ, G.R., Alcala, A.C., 1989, Effects of intense fishing pressure on an assemblage of coral reef fishes. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 56, 13–27. CrossRef
Russ, G.R., Alcala, A.C., 1996, Marine reserves: rates and patterns of recovery and decline in abundance of large predatory fish. Ecol. Appl. 6, 947–961. CrossRef
Russ, G.R., Alcala, A.C., Maypa, A.P., 2003, Spillover from marine reserves: the case of Naso vlamingii at Apo Island, the Philippines. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 264, 15–20. CrossRef
Sala, O.E., Boudouresque, C.F., Harmelin-Vivien, M., 1998, Fishing, trophic cascades and the structure of algal assemblages: evaluation of an old but untested paradigm. Oikos 82, 425–439. CrossRef
Thioulouse, J., Chessel, D., Dolédec, S., Olivier, J.M., 1997, ADE-4: a multivariate analysis and graphical display software. Stat. Comput. 7, 75–83. CrossRef
Williams, D. McB., 1986, Temporal variation in the structure of reef slope fish communities (central Great Barrier Reef): short-term effects of Acanthaster planci infestation. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 28, 157–164. CrossRef