1932

Abstract

Although competition is recognized as a core ecological process, its prevalence and importance in coral reef fish communities have been debated. Here we compile and synthesize the results of 173 experimental tests of competition from 72 publications. We show that evidence for competition is pervasive both within and between species, with 72% of intraspecific tests and 56% of interspecific tests demonstrating a demographically significant consequence of competition (e.g., a decrease in recruitment, survival, growth, or fecundity). We highlight several factors that can interact with the effects of competition and make it more difficult to detect in field experiments. In light of this evidence, we discuss the role of competition in shaping coral reef fish communities and competition's status as one of several processes that contribute to species coexistence. Finally, we consider some of the complex ways that climate change may influence competition, and we provide suggestions for future research.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054413
2015-12-04
2024-04-16
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/ecolsys/46/1/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054413.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054413&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

Literature Cited

  1. Adam TC. 2011. High-quality habitat and facilitation ameliorate competitive effects of prior residents on new settlers. Oecologia 166:121–30 [Google Scholar]
  2. Adler PB, HilleRisLambers J, Levine JM. 2007. A niche for neutrality. Ecol. Lett. 10:95–104 [Google Scholar]
  3. Allen GR, Erdmann MV, Barber PH. 2010. A new species of damselfish (Chrysiptera: Pomacentridae) from Papua New Guinea and eastern Indonesia. Aqua 16:61–70 [Google Scholar]
  4. Almany GR. 2003. Priority effects in coral reef fish communities. Ecology 84:1920–35 [Google Scholar]
  5. Almany GR. 2004. Priority effects in coral reef fish communities of the Great Barrier Reef. Ecology 85:2872–80 [Google Scholar]
  6. Amarasekare P. 2003. Competitive coexistence in spatially structured environments: a synthesis. Ecol. Lett. 6:1109–22 [Google Scholar]
  7. Begon M, Harper JL, Townsend CR. 1986. Ecology: Individuals, Populations and Communities Oxford, UK: Blackwell
  8. Bonin MC, Almany GR, Jones GP. 2011. Contrasting effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on coral-associated reef fishes. Ecology 92:1503–12 [Google Scholar]
  9. Bonin MC, Srinivasan M, Almany GR, Jones GP. 2009. Interactive effects of interspecific competition and microhabitat on early post-settlement survival in a coral reef fish. Coral Reefs 28:265–74 [Google Scholar]
  10. Booth DJ. 1995. Juvenile groups in a coral-reef damselfish: density-dependent effects on individual fitness and population demography. Ecology 76:91–106 [Google Scholar]
  11. Booth DJ. 2004. Synergistic effects of conspecifics and food on growth and energy allocation of a damselfish. Ecology 85:2881–87 [Google Scholar]
  12. Boström-Einarsson LE, Bonin MC, Munday PL, Jones GP. 2014. Habitat degradation modifies the strength of interspecific competition in coral dwelling damselfishes. Ecology 95:3056–67 [Google Scholar]
  13. Buchheim JR, Hixon MA. 1992. Competition for shelter holes in the coral reef fish Acanthemblemaria spinosa Metzelaar. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 164:45–54 [Google Scholar]
  14. Caley MJ, Carr MH, Hixon MA, Hughes TP, Jones GP, Menge BA. 1996. Recruitment and the local dynamics of open marine populations. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 27:477–500 [Google Scholar]
  15. Caley MJ, Munday PL. 2003. Growth trades off with habitat specialization. Proc. R. Soc. B 270:S175–77 [Google Scholar]
  16. Carr MH, Anderson TW, Hixon MA. 2002. Biodiversity, population regulation, and the stability of coral-reef fish communities. PNAS 99:11241–45 [Google Scholar]
  17. Caselle JE. 1999. Early post-settlement mortality in a coral reef fish and its effect on local population size. Ecol. Monogr. 69:177–94 [Google Scholar]
  18. Chesson P. 2000. Mechanisms of maintenance of species diversity. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 31:343–66 [Google Scholar]
  19. Chesson PL, Warner RR. 1981. Environmental variability promotes coexistence in lottery competitive systems. Am. Nat. 117:923–43 [Google Scholar]
  20. Clarke RD. 1989. Population fluctuation, competition and microhabitat distribution of two species of tube blennies, Acanthemblemaria (Teleostei: Chaenopsidae). Bull. Mar. Sci. 44:1174–85 [Google Scholar]
  21. Clarke RD. 1992. Effects of microhabitat and metabolic rate on food intake, growth and fecundity of two competing coral reef fishes. Coral Reefs 11:199–205 [Google Scholar]
  22. Coates D. 1980. Prey-size intake in humbug damselfish, Dascyllus aruanus (Pisces, Pomacentridae) living within social groups. J. Anim. Ecol.335–40
  23. Coker DJ, Pratchett MS, Munday PL. 2012. Influence of coral bleaching, coral mortality and conspecific aggression on movement and distribution of coral-dwelling fish. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 414:62–68 [Google Scholar]
  24. Colwell RK, Fuentes ER. 1975. Experimental studies of the niche. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 6:281–310 [Google Scholar]
  25. Connell JH. 1983. On the prevalence and relative importance of interspecific competition: evidence from field experiments. Am. Nat. 122:661–83 [Google Scholar]
  26. De'ath G, Fabricius KE, Sweatman H, Puotinen M. 2012. The 27-year decline of coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef and its causes. PNAS 109:17995–99 [Google Scholar]
  27. Diamond JM. 1978. Niche shifts and the rediscovery of interspecific competition: Why did field biologists so long overlook the widespread evidence for interspecific competition that had already impressed Darwin?. Am. Sci. 66:322–31 [Google Scholar]
  28. Doherty PJ. 1982. Some effects of density on the juveniles of two species of tropical, territorial damselfishes. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 65:249–61 [Google Scholar]
  29. Doherty PJ. 1983. Tropical territorial damselfishes: Is density limited by aggression or recruitment?. Ecology 64:176–90 [Google Scholar]
  30. Ebersole JP. 1985. Niche separation of two damselfish species by aggression and differential microhabitat utilization. Ecology 66:14–20 [Google Scholar]
  31. Ferrari MC, Dixson DL, Munday PL, McCormick M, Meekan MG. et al. 2011. Intrageneric variation in antipredator responses of coral reef fishes affected by ocean acidification: implications for climate change projections on marine communities. Glob. Chang. Biol. 17:2980–86 [Google Scholar]
  32. Forrester GE. 1990. Factors influencing the juvenile demography of a coral reef fish. Ecology 71:1666–81 [Google Scholar]
  33. Forrester GE. 1991. Social rank, individual size and group composition as determinants of food consumption by humbug damselfish, Dascyllus aruanus. Anim. Behav. 42:701–11 [Google Scholar]
  34. Forrester GE. 1995. Strong density-dependent survival and recruitment regulate the abundance of a coral reef fish. Oecologia 103:275–82 [Google Scholar]
  35. Forrester GE. 1999. The influence of adult density on larval settlement in a coral reef fish, Coryphopterus glaucofraenum. Coral Reefs 18:85–89 [Google Scholar]
  36. Forrester GE. 2015. Competition in reef fishes. Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs C Mora 34–40 Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  37. Forrester GE, Evans B, Steele MA, Vance RR. 2006. Assessing the magnitude of intra- and interspecific competition in two coral reef fishes. Oecologia 148:632–40 [Google Scholar]
  38. Forrester GE, Harmon L, Helyer J, Holden W, Karis R. 2011. Experimental evidence for density-dependent reproductive output in a coral reef fish. Popul. Ecol. 53:155–63 [Google Scholar]
  39. Forrester GE, Steele MA. 2000. Variation in the presence and cause of density-dependent mortality in three species of reef fishes. Ecology 81:2416–27 [Google Scholar]
  40. Forrester GE, Steele MA. 2004. Predators, prey refuges, and the spatial scaling of density-dependent prey mortality. Ecology 85:1332–42 [Google Scholar]
  41. Forrester GE, Steele MA, Samhouri JF, Evans B, Vance RR. 2008. Spatial density dependence scales up but does not produce temporal density dependence in a coral reef fish. Ecology 89:2980–85 [Google Scholar]
  42. Gardner TA, Côté IM, Gill JA, Grant A, Watkinson AR. 2003. Long-term region-wide declines in Caribbean corals. Science 301:958–60 [Google Scholar]
  43. Gaylord B, Kroeker KJ, Sunday JM, Anderson KM, Barry JP. et al. 2014. Ocean acidification through the lens of ecological theory. Ecology 96:3–15 [Google Scholar]
  44. Geange SW. 2010. Effects of larger heterospecifics and structural refuge on the survival of a coral reef fish, Thalassoma hardwicke. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 407:197–207 [Google Scholar]
  45. Geange SW, Stier AC. 2009. Order of arrival affects competition in two reef fishes. Ecology 90:2868–78 [Google Scholar]
  46. Geange SW, Stier AC. 2010. Priority effects and habitat complexity affect the strength of competition. Oecologia 163:111–18 [Google Scholar]
  47. Geange SW, Stier AC, Shima JS. 2013. Competitive hierarchies among three species of juvenile coral reef fishes. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 472:239–48 [Google Scholar]
  48. Graham NAJ, Wilson SK, Jennings S, Polunin NVC, Bijoux JP, Robinson J. 2006. Dynamic fragility of oceanic coral reef ecosystems. PNAS 103:8425–29 [Google Scholar]
  49. Gravel D, Canham CD, Beaudet M, Messier C. 2006. Reconciling niche and neutrality: the continuum hypothesis. Ecol. Lett. 9:399–409 [Google Scholar]
  50. Gurevitch J, Morrison JA, Hedges LV. 2000. The interaction between competition and predation: a meta-analysis of field experiments. Am. Nat. 155:435–53 [Google Scholar]
  51. Gurevitch J, Morrow LL, Wallace A, Walsh JS. 1992. A meta-analysis of competition in field experiments. Am. Nat. 140:539–72 [Google Scholar]
  52. Harley CD, Randall Hughes A, Hultgren KM, Miner BG, Sorte CJ. et al. 2006. The impacts of climate change in coastal marine systems. Ecol. Lett. 9:228–41 [Google Scholar]
  53. Hixon MA. 1991. Predation as a process structuring coral reef fish communities. The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs PF Sale 475–508 New York: Academic [Google Scholar]
  54. Hixon MA. 2011. 60 years of coral reef fish ecology: past, present, future. Bull. Mar. Sci. 87:727–65 [Google Scholar]
  55. Hixon MA, Anderson TW, Buch KL, Johnson DW, McLeod JB, Stallings CD. 2012. Density dependence and population regulation in marine fish: a large-scale, long-term field manipulation. Ecol. Monogr. 82:467–89 [Google Scholar]
  56. Hixon MA, Jones GP. 2005. Competition, predation, and density-dependent mortality in demersal marine fishes. Ecology 86:2847–59 [Google Scholar]
  57. Hixon MA, Webster MS. 2002. Density dependence in reef fish populations. Coral Reef Fishes: Dynamics and Diversity in a Complex Ecosystem PF Sale 303–25 New York: Academic [Google Scholar]
  58. Hobbs JPA, Munday PL. 2004. Intraspecific competition controls spatial distribution and social organisation of the coral-dwelling goby Gobiodon histrio. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 278:253–59 [Google Scholar]
  59. Hoegh-Guldberg O, Bruno JF. 2010. The impact of climate change on the world's marine ecosystems. Science 328:1523–28 [Google Scholar]
  60. Holbrook SJ, Schmitt RJ. 2002. Competition for shelter space causes density-dependent predation mortality in damselfishes. Ecology 83:2855–68 [Google Scholar]
  61. Holbrook SJ, Schmitt RJ. 2004. Population dynamics of a damselfish: effects of a competitor that also is an indirect mutualist. Ecology 85:979–85 [Google Scholar]
  62. Johnson DW. 2008. Combined effects of condition and density on post-settlement survival and growth of a marine fish. Oecologia 155:43–52 [Google Scholar]
  63. Jones GP. 1987a. Competitive interactions among adults and juveniles in a coral reef fish. Ecology 68:1534–47 [Google Scholar]
  64. Jones GP. 1987b. Some interactions between residents and recruits in two coral reef fishes. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 114:169–82 [Google Scholar]
  65. Jones GP. 1988. Experimental evaluation of the effects of habitat structure and competitive interactions on the juveniles of two coral-reef fishes. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 123:115–26 [Google Scholar]
  66. Jones GP. 1990. The importance of recruitment to the dynamics of a coral reef fish population. Ecology 71:1691–98 [Google Scholar]
  67. Jones GP. 1991. Postrecruitment processes in the ecology of coral reef fish populations: a multifactorial perspective. The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs PF Sale 294–328 New York: Academic [Google Scholar]
  68. Jones GP, McCormick MI. 2002. Numerical and energetic processes in the ecology of coral reef fishes. Coral Reef Fishes: Dynamics and Diversity in a Complex Ecosystem PF Sale 221–38 New York: Academic [Google Scholar]
  69. Jones GP, McCormick MI, Srinivasan M, Eagle JV. 2004. Coral decline threatens fish biodiversity in marine reserves. PNAS 101:8251–53 [Google Scholar]
  70. MacArthur R, Levins R. 1967. The limiting similarity, convergence, and divergence of coexisting species. Am. Nat. 101:377–85 [Google Scholar]
  71. McCormick MI. 2006. Mothers matter: Crowding leads to stressed mothers and smaller offspring in marine fish. Ecology 87:1104–9 [Google Scholar]
  72. McCormick MI. 2012. Lethal effects of habitat degradation on fishes through changing competitive advantage. Proc. R. Soc. B 279:3899–904 [Google Scholar]
  73. McCormick MI, Watson SA, Munday PL. 2013. Ocean acidification reverses competition for space as habitats degrade. Sci. Rep. 3:3280 [Google Scholar]
  74. McCormick MI, Weaver CJ. 2012. It pays to be pushy: intracohort interference competition between two reef fishes. PLOS ONE 7:e42590 [Google Scholar]
  75. Munday PL. 2001. Fitness consequences of habitat use and competition among coral-dwelling fishes. Oecologia 128:585–93 [Google Scholar]
  76. Munday PL. 2004. Competitive coexistence of coral-dwelling fishes: the lottery hypothesis revisited. Ecology 85:623–28 [Google Scholar]
  77. Munday PL, Jones GP, Caley MJ. 2001. Interspecific competition and coexistence in a guild of coral-dwelling fishes. Ecology 82:2177–89 [Google Scholar]
  78. Nakagawa S, Cuthill IC. 2007. Effect size, confidence interval and statistical significance: a practical guide for biologists. Biol. Rev. 82:591–605 [Google Scholar]
  79. Nilsson GE, Dixson DL, Domenici P, McCormick MI, Sørensen C. et al. 2012. Near-future carbon dioxide levels alter fish behaviour by interfering with neurotransmitter function. Nat. Clim. Chang. 2:201–4 [Google Scholar]
  80. Pereira PH, Munday PL, Jones GP. 2015. Competitive mechanisms change with ontogeny in coral-dwelling gobies. Ecology In press. doi: 10.1890/14-1689.1
  81. Pratchett MS, Munday PL, Wilson SK, Graham NAJ, Cinneri JE. et al. 2008. Effects of climate-induced coral bleaching on coral-reef fishes—ecological and economic consequences. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. 46:251–96 [Google Scholar]
  82. Robertson DR. 1995. Competitive ability and the potential for lotteries among territorial reef fishes. Oecologia 103:180–90 [Google Scholar]
  83. Robertson DR. 1996. Interspecific competition controls abundance and habitat use of territorial Caribbean damselfishes. Ecology 77:885–99 [Google Scholar]
  84. Robertson DR, Gaines SD. 1986. Interference competition structures habitat use in a local assemblage of coral-reef surgeonfishes. Ecology 67:1372–83 [Google Scholar]
  85. Robertson DR, Hoffman SG, Sheldon JM. 1981. Availability of space for the territorial Caribbean damselfish Eupomacentrus planifrons. Ecology 62:1162–69 [Google Scholar]
  86. Robertson DR, Sheldon JM. 1979. Competitive interactions and the availability of sleeping sites for a diurnal coral reef fish. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 40:285–98 [Google Scholar]
  87. Roughgarden J. 1983. Competition and theory in community ecology. Am. Nat. 122:583–601 [Google Scholar]
  88. Rummer JL, Couturier CS, Stecyk JA, Gardiner NM, Kinch JP. et al. 2014. Life on the edge: Thermal optima for aerobic scope of equatorial reef fishes are close to current day temperatures. Glob. Chang. Biol. 20:1055–66 [Google Scholar]
  89. Sale PF. 1976. The effect of territorial adult pomacentrid fishes on the recruitment and survival of juveniles on patches of coral rubble. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 24:297–306 [Google Scholar]
  90. Sale PF. 1977. Maintenance of high diversity in coral reef fish communities. Am. Nat. 111:337–59 [Google Scholar]
  91. Sale PF. 1980. The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. Oceanogr. Mar Biol. 18:376–421 [Google Scholar]
  92. Sale PF. 1991. The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs San Diego: Academic
  93. Sale PF. 2002. Coral Reef Fishes: Dynamics and Diversity in a Complex Ecosystem. San Diego: Academic
  94. Samhouri JF. 2009. Food supply influences offspring provisioning but not density-dependent fecundity in a marine fish. Ecology 90:3478–88 [Google Scholar]
  95. Samhouri JF, Steele MA, Forrester GE. 2009. Inter-cohort competition drives density dependence and selective mortality in a marine fish. Ecology 90:1009–20 [Google Scholar]
  96. Schmitt RJ, Holbrook SJ. 1999a. Mortality of juvenile damselfish: implications for assessing processes that determine abundance. Ecology 80:35–50 [Google Scholar]
  97. Schmitt RJ, Holbrook SJ. 1999b. Settlement and recruitment of three damselfish species: larval delivery and competition for shelter space. Oecologia 118:76–86 [Google Scholar]
  98. Schmitt RJ, Holbrook SJ. 2000. Habitat-limited recruitment of coral reef damselfish. Ecology 81:3479–94 [Google Scholar]
  99. Schmitt RJ, Holbrook SJ. 2003. Mutualism can mediate competition and promote coexistence. Ecol. Lett. 6:898–902 [Google Scholar]
  100. Schmitt RJ, Holbrook SJ. 2007. The scale and cause of spatial heterogeneity in strength of temporal density dependence. Ecology 88:1241–49 [Google Scholar]
  101. Schoener TW. 1983. Field experiments on interspecific competition. Am. Nat. 122:240–85 [Google Scholar]
  102. Shima JS, Osenberg CW. 2003. Cryptic density dependence: effects of covariation between density and site quality in reef fish. Ecology 84:46–52 [Google Scholar]
  103. Simberloff D. 1982. The status of competition theory in ecology. Ann. Zool. Fennici 19:241–53 [Google Scholar]
  104. Smith C, Tyler J. 1972. Space resource sharing in a coral reef fish community. Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. Los Angel. Cty. 14:125–70 [Google Scholar]
  105. Smith C, Tyler J. 1973. Direct observations of resource sharing in coral reef fish. Helgol. Wiss. Meeresunters. 24:264–75 [Google Scholar]
  106. Sorensen C, Munday PL, Nilsson GE. 2014. Aerobic versus anaerobic scope: Sibling species of fish indicate that temperature dependence of hypoxia tolerance can predict future survival. Glob. Chang. Biol. 20:724–29 [Google Scholar]
  107. Srinivasan M, Jones GP, Caley MJ. 1999. Experimental evaluation of the roles of habitat selection and interspecific competition in determining patterns of host use by two anemonefishes. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 186:283–92 [Google Scholar]
  108. Stier AC, Geange SW, Bolker BM. 2013. Predator density and competition modify the benefits of group formation in a shoaling reef fish. Oikos 122:171–78 [Google Scholar]
  109. Sweatman HPA. 1985. The influence of adults of some coral reef fishes on larval recruitment. Ecol. Monogr. 55:469–85 [Google Scholar]
  110. Talbot FH, Russell BC, Anderson GR. 1978. Coral reef fish communities: unstable, high-diversity systems?. Ecol. Monogr. 48:425–40 [Google Scholar]
  111. Thompson AR. 2005. Dynamics of demographically open mutualists: immigration, intraspecific competition, and predation impact goby populations. Oecologia 143:61–69 [Google Scholar]
  112. Underwood T. 1986. The analysis of competition by field experiments. Community Ecology: Pattern and Process J Kikkawa, DJ Anderson 240–68 New York: Wiley [Google Scholar]
  113. Victor BC. 1983. Recruitment and population dynamics of a coral reef fish. Science 219:419–20 [Google Scholar]
  114. Warner RR, Chesson PL. 1985. Coexistence mediated by recruitment fluctuations: a field guide to the storage effect. Am. Nat. 125:769–87 [Google Scholar]
  115. Webster MS. 2003. Temporal density dependence and population regulation in a marine fish. Ecology 84:623–28 [Google Scholar]
  116. Webster MS. 2004. Density dependence via intercohort competition in a coral-reef fish. Ecology 85:986–94 [Google Scholar]
  117. Webster MS, Hixon MA. 2000. Mechanisms and individual consequences of intraspecific competition in a coral-reef fish. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 196:187–94 [Google Scholar]
  118. White JW, Samhouri JF, Stier AC, Wormald CL, Hamilton SL, Sandin SA. 2010. Synthesizing mechanisms of density dependence in reef fishes: behavior, habitat configuration, and observational scale. Ecology 91:1949–61 [Google Scholar]
  119. Whiteman EA, Côté IM. 2004. Dominance hierarchies in group-living cleaning gobies: causes and foraging consequences. Anim. Behav. 67:239–47 [Google Scholar]
  120. Wilson JA. 2005. Age class interactions in a marine goby, Elacatinus prochilos (Böhlke and Robins, 1968). J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 327:144–56 [Google Scholar]
  121. Wilson JA, Osenberg CW. 2002. Experimental and observational patterns of density-dependent settlement and survival in the marine fish Gobiosoma. Oecologia 130:205–15 [Google Scholar]
  122. Wong MYL, Munday PL, Buston PM, Jones GP. 2008. Monogamy when there is potential for polygyny: tests of multiple hypotheses in a group-living fish. Behav. Ecol. 19:353–61 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054413
Loading
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054413
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Supplemental Material

Supplementary Data

  • Article Type: Review Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error