Farming versatility by Pomacentrus wardi
D. M. Ceccarelli A D , M. J. Emslie B and A. R. Lewis C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A PO Box 215, Magnetic Island, Qld 4819, Australia.
B Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No. 3, TMC, Townsville, Qld 4810, Australia.
C Reef EcoTours, PO Box 137, Magnetic Island, Qld 4819, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: dmecca@gmail.com, dmcecca@bigpond.net.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 64(6) 558-561 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF12343
Submitted: 18 April 2012 Accepted: 27 February 2013 Published: 8 May 2013
Abstract
Territorial damselfishes, or ‘farmers’, modify the benthic communities in their territories in favour of preferred food species, usually filamentous algae. Behavioural observations of the farming Ward’s damselfish, Pomacentrus wardi, on Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, revealed that 55% of the observed individuals had high bite rates on the surface of soft corals (genera Sinularia, Isis and Sarcophyton). Furthermore, numerous soft corals within P. wardi territories were observed to have algal turfs growing on them. Such observations suggest an unprecedented versatility in the choice of seemingly healthy soft corals as a substrate for algal farms. This behaviour may be a novel technique for reducing competitive interactions from roving herbivores, and may have sublethal consequences for the soft corals that remain to be tested.
Additional keywords: algal turf, benthic community, feeding ecology, herbivory, soft coral, territorial damselfish.
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