Home-range size in juveniles of the temperate reef fish, the common triplefin (Forsterygion lapillum)
Paul J. Mensink A D and Jeffrey S. Shima B C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
B School of Biological Sciences, PO Box 600, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
C Victoria University Coastal Ecology Lab, 396 The Esplanade, Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand.
D Corresponding author. Email: pjmensink@gmail.com
Marine and Freshwater Research 67(10) 1589-1595 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF14414
Submitted: 17 December 2014 Accepted: 8 May 2015 Published: 30 September 2015
Abstract
An organism’s home range dictates the spatial scale on which important processes occur (e.g. competition and predation) and directly affects the relationship between individual fitness and local habitat quality. Many reef fish species have very restricted home ranges after settlement and, here, we quantify home-range size in juveniles of a widespread and abundant reef fish in New Zealand, the common triplefin (Forsterygion lapillum). We conducted visual observations on 49 juveniles (mean size = 35-mm total length) within the Wellington harbour, New Zealand. Home ranges were extremely small, 0.053 m2 ± 0.029 (mean ± s.d.) and were unaffected by adult density, body size or substrate composition. A regression tree indicated that home-range size sharply decreased ~4.5 juveniles m–2 and a linear mixed model confirmed that home-range sizes in high-density areas (>4.5 juveniles m–2) were significantly smaller (34%) than those in low-density areas (after accounting for a significant effect of fish movement on our home-range estimates). Our results suggest that conspecific density may have negative and non-linear effects on home-range size, which could shape the spatial distribution of juveniles within a population, as well as influence individual fitness across local density gradients.
Additional keywords: animal movement, density-dependent space use, intraspecific interactions, marine reef fish, New Zealand.
References
Adams, E. (2001). Approaches to the study of territory size and shape. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 32, 277–303.| Approaches to the study of territory size and shape.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Akaike, H. (1974). A new look at the statistical model identification. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control 19, 716–723.
| A new look at the statistical model identification.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Barton, L. (2013) MuMIn: Multi-model inference. R package version 1.9.5. Available at http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=MuMIn [Verified 29 July 2015].
Bates, D., Maechler, M., Bolker, B., and Walker, S. (2013) lme4: Linear mixed-effects models using Eigen and S4. R package version 1.0-4. Available at http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=lme4 [Verified 29 July 2015].
Bell, T., and Kramer, D. L. (2000). Territoriality and habitat use by juvenile blue tangs, Acanthurus coeruleus. Environmental Biology of Fishes 58, 401–409.
| Territoriality and habitat use by juvenile blue tangs, Acanthurus coeruleus.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Brännström, Å., and Sumpter, D. J. T. (2005). The role of competition and clustering in population dynamics. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London – B. Biological Sciences 272, 2065–2072.
| The role of competition and clustering in population dynamics.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Breiman, L., Friedman, J. H., Olshen, R. A., and Stone, C. G. (1984). ‘Classification and Regression Trees.’ (Wadsworth International Group: Belmont, CA, USA.)
Buckle, E. C., and Booth, D. J. (2009). Ontogeny of space use and diet of two temperate damselfish species, Parma microlepis and Parma unifasciata. Marine Biology 156, 1497–1505.
| Ontogeny of space use and diet of two temperate damselfish species, Parma microlepis and Parma unifasciata.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Burnham, K. P., and Anderson, D. R. (2002). ‘Model Selection and Multimodel Inference: a Practical Information-theoretic Approach.’ (Springer-Verlag: New York.)
Burt, W. H. (1943). Territoriality and home range concepts as applied to mammals. Journal of Mammalogy 24, 346–352.
| Territoriality and home range concepts as applied to mammals.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Chapman, M. R., and Kramer, D. L. (2000). Movements of fishes within and among fringing coral reefs in Barbados. Environmental Biology of Fishes 57, 11–24.
| Movements of fishes within and among fringing coral reefs in Barbados.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Clements, K. D. (2003). Triplefins. In ‘Living Reef: the Ecology of New Zealand’s Rocky Reefs’. (Eds N. Andrew and M. Francis.) pp. 160–167. (Craig Potton Publishing: Nelson, New Zealand.)
Cole, K. S. (1984). Social spacing in the temperate marine goby Coryphopterus nicholsii. Marine Biology 80, 307–314.
| Social spacing in the temperate marine goby Coryphopterus nicholsii.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
de Roos, A. M., McCauley, E., and Wilson, W. (1998). Pattern formation and the spatial scale of interaction between predators and their prey. Theoretical Population Biology 53, 108–130.
| Pattern formation and the spatial scale of interaction between predators and their prey.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 9780302PubMed |
De’ath, G., and Fabricius, K. E. (2000). Classification and regression trees: a powerful yet simple technique for ecological data analysis. Ecology 81, 3178–3192.
| Classification and regression trees: a powerful yet simple technique for ecological data analysis.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Feary, D. A., and Clements, K. D. (2006). Habitat use by triplefin species (Tripterygiidae) on rocky reefs in New Zealand. Journal of Fish Biology 69, 1031–1046.
| Habitat use by triplefin species (Tripterygiidae) on rocky reefs in New Zealand.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Feary, D. A., Wellenreuther, M., and Clements, K. D. (2009). Trophic ecology of New Zealand triplefin fishes (Family Tripterygiidae). Marine Biology 156, 1703–1714.
| Trophic ecology of New Zealand triplefin fishes (Family Tripterygiidae).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Germain, R. R., and Arcese, P. (2014). Distinguishing individual quality from habitat preference and quality in a territorial passerine. Ecology 95, 436–445.
| Distinguishing individual quality from habitat preference and quality in a territorial passerine.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 24669736PubMed |
Grant, J. W., and Kramer, D. L. (1990). Territory size as a predictor of the upper limit to population density of juvenile salmonids in streams. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 47, 1724–1737.
| Territory size as a predictor of the upper limit to population density of juvenile salmonids in streams.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Grueber, C. E., Nakagawa, S. R., Laws, J., and Jamieson, I. G. (2011). Multimodel inference in ecology and evolution: challenges and solutions. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 24, 699–711.
| Multimodel inference in ecology and evolution: challenges and solutions.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:STN:280:DC%2BC3M3msVeksQ%3D%3D&md5=5ae3c60765be18b337a3914c316aeed6CAS | 21272107PubMed |
Grüss, A., Kaplan, D. M., Guénette, S., Roberts, C. M., and Botsford, L. W. (2011). Consequences of adult and juvenile movement for marine protected areas. Biological Conservation 144, 692–702.
| Consequences of adult and juvenile movement for marine protected areas.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hassell, M. P. (1975). Density-dependence in single-species populations. Journal of Animal Ecology 44, 283–295.
| Density-dependence in single-species populations.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hixon, M. A., and Carr, M. H. (1997). Synergistic predation, density dependence, and population regulation in marine fish. Science 277, 946–949.
| Synergistic predation, density dependence, and population regulation in marine fish.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DyaK2sXltlCqtrg%3D&md5=a8ff9f1ad8155d1cf26544b6efa909bcCAS |
Hixon, M. A., and Jones, G. P. (2005). Competition, predation, and density-dependent mortality in demersal marine fishes. Ecology 86, 2847–2859.
| Competition, predation, and density-dependent mortality in demersal marine fishes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Jones, K. (2005). Home range areas and activity centres in six species of Caribbean wrasses (Labridae). Journal of Fish Biology 66, 150–166.
| Home range areas and activity centres in six species of Caribbean wrasses (Labridae).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kohn, Y., and Clements, K. (2011). Pelagic larval duration and population connectivity in New Zealand triplefin fishes (Tripterygiidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 91, 275–286.
| Pelagic larval duration and population connectivity in New Zealand triplefin fishes (Tripterygiidae).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kroon, F. J., de Graaf, M., and Liley, N. R. (2000). Social organisation and competition for refuges and nest sites in Coryphopterus nicholsii (Gobiidae), a temperate protogynous reef fish. Environmental Biology of Fishes 57, 401–411.
| Social organisation and competition for refuges and nest sites in Coryphopterus nicholsii (Gobiidae), a temperate protogynous reef fish.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Luckhurst, B. E., and Luckhurst, K. (1978). Diurnal space utilization in coral reef fish communities. Marine Biology 49, 325–332.
| Diurnal space utilization in coral reef fish communities.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Marnane, M. J. (2000). Site fidelity and homing behaviour in coral reef cardinalfishes. Journal of Fish Biology 57, 1590–1600.
| Site fidelity and homing behaviour in coral reef cardinalfishes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
McDermott, C. J., and Shima, J. S. (2006). Ontogenetic shifts in microhabitat preference of the temperate reef fish Forsterygion lapillum: implications for population limitation. Marine Ecology Progress Series 320, 259–266.
| Ontogenetic shifts in microhabitat preference of the temperate reef fish Forsterygion lapillum: implications for population limitation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Mensink, P. J., and Shima, J. S. (2014). Patterns of co-occurrence and interactions between age classes of the common triplefin, Forsterygion lapillum. Marine Biology 161, 1285–1298.
| Patterns of co-occurrence and interactions between age classes of the common triplefin, Forsterygion lapillum.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Morton, D. N., and Shima, J. S. (2013). Habitat configuration and availability influences the settlement of temperate reef fishes (Tripterygiidae). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 449, 215–220.
| Habitat configuration and availability influences the settlement of temperate reef fishes (Tripterygiidae).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Munday, P. L., and Jones, G. P. (1998). The ecological implications of small body size among coral-reef fishes. In ‘Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review. Vol. 36’. (Eds A. Ansell, M. Barnes, and R. Gibson.) pp. 373–411. (CRC Press. London)
Norman, M. D., and Jones, G. P. (1984). Determinants of territory size in the pomacentrid reef fish, Parma victoriae. Oecologia 61, 60–69.
| Determinants of territory size in the pomacentrid reef fish, Parma victoriae.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Nursall, J. R. (1977). Territoriality in redlip blennies (Ophioblennius atlanticus Pisces: Blenniidae). Journal of Zoology 182, 205–223.
| Territoriality in redlip blennies (Ophioblennius atlanticus Pisces: Blenniidae).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Petty, J. T., and Grossman, G. D. (2007). Size-dependent territoriality of mottled sculpin in a southern Appalachian stream. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 136, 1750–1761.
| Size-dependent territoriality of mottled sculpin in a southern Appalachian stream.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Pittman, S. J., and McAlpine, C. A. (2003). Movements of marine fish and decapod crustaceans: process, theory and application. Advances in Marine Biology 44, 205–294.
| Movements of marine fish and decapod crustaceans: process, theory and application.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:STN:280:DC%2BD3szhslWiuw%3D%3D&md5=83a760910f12edf45cbda11a5df02209CAS | 12846043PubMed |
Planes, S., Jones, G. P., and Thorrold, S. R. (2009). Larval dispersal connects fish populations in a network of marine protected areas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106, 5693–5697.
| Larval dispersal connects fish populations in a network of marine protected areas.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD1MXkvFOns70%3D&md5=66cc85f9b2779d9a097c4e26c49361c8CAS | 19307588PubMed |
Quinlan, J. R. (1987). Simplifying decision trees. International Journal of Man–Machine Studies 27, 221–234.
| Simplifying decision trees.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
R Core Team (2014). R: a language and environment for statistical computing. (R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria.) Available at http://www.R-project.org/ [Verified 29 June 2015].
Reese, E. (1973). Duration of residence by coral reef fishes on ‘ home’ reefs. Copeia 1973, 145–149.
| Duration of residence by coral reef fishes on ‘ home’ reefs.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Rousseeuw, P., Croux, C., Todorov, V., Ruckstuhl, A., Salibian-Barrera, M., Verbeke, T., Koller, M., and Maechler, M. (2015). robustbase: Basic Robust Statistics. R package version 0.92-3. Available at http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=robustbase [Verified 29 June 2015].
Sale, P. (1971). Extremely limited home range in a coral reef fish, Dascyllus aruanus (Pisces; Pomacentridae). Copeia 1971, 324–327.
| Extremely limited home range in a coral reef fish, Dascyllus aruanus (Pisces; Pomacentridae).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Samhouri, J. F., Vance, R. R., Forrester, G. E., and Steele, M. A. (2009). Musical chairs mortality functions: density-dependent deaths caused by competition for unguarded refuges. Oecologia 160, 257–265.
| Musical chairs mortality functions: density-dependent deaths caused by competition for unguarded refuges.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 19263085PubMed |
Schneider, C. A., Rasband, W. S., and Eliceiri, K. W. (2012). NIH Image to ImageJ: 25 years of image analysis. Nature Methods 9, 671–675.
| NIH Image to ImageJ: 25 years of image analysis.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC38XhtVKntb7P&md5=b6d66c5b859b2ab9a969a0b7aaf4bdb3CAS | 22930834PubMed |
Schielzeth, H. (2010). Simple means to improve the interpretability of regression coefficients. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 1, 103–113.
| Simple means to improve the interpretability of regression coefficients.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shima, J. S., and Osenberg, C. W. (2003). Cryptic density dependence: effects of covariation between density and site quality in reef fish. Ecology 84, 46–52.
| Cryptic density dependence: effects of covariation between density and site quality in reef fish.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shima, J. S., and Swearer, S. E. (2009). Spatially variable larval histories may shape recruitment rates of a temperate reef fish. Marine Ecology Progress Series 394, 223–229.
| Spatially variable larval histories may shape recruitment rates of a temperate reef fish.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shima, J. S., and Swearer, S. E. (2010). The legacy of dispersal: larval experience shapes persistence later in the life of a reef fish. Journal of Animal Ecology 79, 1308–1314.
| The legacy of dispersal: larval experience shapes persistence later in the life of a reef fish.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 20636344PubMed |
Smith, A. (2010). Environmental and life-history factors influencing juvenile demography of a temperate reef fish. Ph.D. Thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Smith, A. C., and Shima, J. S. (2011). Variation in the effects of larval history on juvenile performance of a temperate reef fish. Austral Ecology 36, 830–838.
| Variation in the effects of larval history on juvenile performance of a temperate reef fish.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Syms, C. (1995). Multi-scale analysis of habitat association in a guild of blennioid fishes. Marine Ecology Progress Series 125, 31–43.
| Multi-scale analysis of habitat association in a guild of blennioid fishes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Thompson, S. M. (1979). Ecological and behavioural factors influencing the distribution and abundance patterns of tripterygiid fishes with particular reference to Tripterygion varium. Ph.D. Thesis, Auckland, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Thompson, S. (1983). Homing in a territorial reef fish. Copeia , 832–834.
| Homing in a territorial reef fish.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Thompson, S., and Jones, G. (1983). Interspecific territoriality and competition for food between the reef fishes Forsterygion varium and Pseudolabrus celidotus. Marine Biology 76, 95–104.
| Interspecific territoriality and competition for food between the reef fishes Forsterygion varium and Pseudolabrus celidotus.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Valdora, M., and Yohai, V. J. (2014). Robust estimators for generalized linear models. Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference 146, 31–48.
| Robust estimators for generalized linear models.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Weeden, J. (1965). Territorial behavior of the tree sparrow. The Condor 67, 193–209.
| Territorial behavior of the tree sparrow.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wellenreuther, M. (2007). Ecological factors associated with speciation in New Zealand triplefin fishes (Family Tripterygiidae). Ph.D. Thesis, University of Auckland.
Wellenreuther, M., and Clements, K. D. (2008). Determinants of habitat association in a sympatric clade of marine fishes. Marine Biology 154, 393–402.
| Determinants of habitat association in a sympatric clade of marine fishes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wellenreuther, M., Barrett, P. T., and Clements, K. D. (2007). Ecological diversification in habitat use by subtidal triplefin fishes (Tripterygiidae). Marine Ecology Progress Series 330, 235–246.
| Ecological diversification in habitat use by subtidal triplefin fishes (Tripterygiidae).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wellenreuther, M., Syms, C., and Clements, K. D. (2008). Consistent spatial patterns across biogeographic gradients in temperate reef fishes. Ecography 31, 84–94.
| Consistent spatial patterns across biogeographic gradients in temperate reef fishes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Welsh, J. Q., Goatley, C. H. R., and Bellwood, D. R. (2013). The ontogeny of home ranges: evidence from coral reef fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 280, 20132066.
| The ontogeny of home ranges: evidence from coral reef fishes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:STN:280:DC%2BC2c7htleiuw%3D%3D&md5=76867792440973d81cefa16ecebe6ee6CAS | 24174108PubMed |
White, J. W., Samhouri, J. F., Stier, A. C., Wormald, C. L., Hamilton, S. L., and Sandin, S. A. (2010). Synthesizing mechanisms of density dependence in reef fishes: behavior, habitat configuration, and observational scale. Ecology 91, 1949–1961.
| Synthesizing mechanisms of density dependence in reef fishes: behavior, habitat configuration, and observational scale.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 20715614PubMed |
Willis, T. (2001). Visual census methods underestimate density and diversity of cryptic reef fishes. Journal of Fish Biology 59, 1408–1411.
| Visual census methods underestimate density and diversity of cryptic reef fishes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
