Limits to grazing by herbivorous fishes and the impact of low coral cover on macroalgal abundance on a coral reef in Belize

By I. Williams, Nicholas Polunin, V. Hendrick. 2001

227 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Subfields: Ecology, Global and Planetary Change, Oceanography

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/600e5838b7e3dc7c9fde103f7f9a49a07d1d6f8e

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Citations in the corpus

Nutrient versus herbivore control of macroalgal community development and coral growth on a Caribbean reef (2009, background): “Thus, with declining coral cover, herbivore pressure is diluted (Williams et al. 2001) and macroalgae have more area to colonize.”
Interaction between nutrients and herbivory in controlling algal communities and coral condition on Glover's Reef, Belize (2003, unknown): “Our experiments suggest that dominance of frondose algae on Glover’s patch reefs is more likely to reflect coral mortality and low herbivory (Williams et al. 2001), rather than a response to periodic pulses of nutrients (Andrefouet et al. 2002) or nutrient levels above a threshold for…”
Harnessing ecological processes to facilitate coral restoration (2018, unknown): “The temporary use of non-colonizable, algal-free surfaces to reduce grazable substrate can concentrate existing herbivory (Williams et al. 2001).”
The non-linear relationship between body size and function in parrotfishes (2008, background): “If unexploited they can maintain a substantial part of coral reefs permanently grazed (Williams et al. 2001; Mumby et al. 2006).”
Coral–macroalgal phase shifts or reef resilience: links with diversity and functional roles of herbivorous fishes on the Great Barrier Reef (2010, background): “Our observations support the space availability model of Williams et al. (2001), who showed experimentally that if enough space is opened up for colonization, macroalgal growth can exceed the grazing capacity of herbivore populations.”
Baselines and Degradation of Coral Reefs in the Northern Line Islands (2008, background): “Most herbivorous fish in the Pacific feed primarily on algae instead of corals [33], causing the intensity of herbivory on non-coral substrata to be greater at sites where coral cover is high [44].”
Differential competitive abilities between Caribbean coral species and a brown alga: a year of experiments and a long-term perspective (2006, background): “…corals to increase in abundance, with herbivory, nutrients and/or reproductive characteristics acting as interacting factors to drive the subsequent colonisation of algae (McClanahan & Muthiga 1998, McClanahan et al. 1999, 2001, Williams et al. 2001a,b, Diaz-Pulido & McCook 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005).”
Multiple disturbances and the global degradation of coral reefs: are reef fishes at risk or resilient? (2006, background): “However, we found that abundance of EAM-feeding fishes does not always increase after coral loss and in some circumstances these fishes fail to compensate for increased growth of macroalgae on surfaces previously occupied by corals (Williams et al., 2001) potentially leading to phase shifts.”
Effects of climate-induced coral bleaching on coral-reef fishes - ecological and economic consequences (2008, background): “…species may be unable to counter increased algal abundance and macroalgal blooms can develop (ostrander et al. 2000, Mcclanahan et al. 2001b, Williams et al. 2001, Diaz-Pulido & Mccook 2002, Aronson & Precht 2006), bringing about a phase shift from coral- to macroalgal-dominated reefs. once…”
Responses of reef fish communities to coral declines on the Great Barrier Reef (2008, background): “…reefs such as Havannah Is. and Fitzroy Is. that support relatively few herbivores may be particularly at risk of further degradation following coral declines as the rate of algal growth may well exceed the capacity of fish populations to keep it in check (Williams et al. 2001, Mumby et al. 2006).”
Alternative states on coral reefs: beyond coral–macroalgal phase shifts (2009, background): “…loss of coral cover liberates space for algal colonization and can lead to a subsequent increase in macroalgae abundance if there is a low abundance of herbivores or if algal proliferation is rapid enough to overwhelm the grazing capacity of the standing stock of herbivores (Williams et al. 2001).”
Identifying multiple coral reef regimes and their drivers across the Hawaiian archipelago (2015, background): “following hurricanes or coral mass bleaching events [10,16,17].”
Herbivory versus corallivory: are parrotfish good or bad for Caribbean coral reefs? (2009, background): “…experimental and observational studies have found that parrotfish grazing can exert strong top–down impacts on the cover of macroalgae on reefs (Hay 1981; Carpenter 1986; Lewis 1986; Steneck 1997; Williams and Polunin 2000; Williams et al. 2001; Mumby et al. 2006; Burkepile and Hay 2008).”
Monitoring functional groups of herbivorous reef fishes as indicators of coral reef resilience : a practical guide for coral reef managers in the Asia Pacific region (2009, background): “…algal assemblages in a cropped state, they are unable to maintain all areas of reef substratum in that condition, particularly in areas of low coral cover, high nutrients and where the urchin Diadema antillarum remains scarce (Williams et al 2001, Mumby 2006, Mumby et al 2005, Paddack et al 2006).”
Grazing pressure of herbivorous coral reef fishes on low coral-cover reefs (2006, background): “Such spatial variability in grazing intensity may allow a mosaic of macroalgal patches to persist (Williams et al. 2001).”