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Impacts of artisanal fishing on key functional groups and the potential vulnerability of coral reefs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2010

JERKER LOKRANTZ ,
MAGNUS NYSTRÖM ,
ALBERT V. NORSTRÖM ,
CARL FOLKE  and
JOSHUA E. CINNER
JERKER LOKRANTZ*
Affiliation:
Natural Resource Management, Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
MAGNUS NYSTRÖM
Affiliation:
Natural Resource Management, Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
ALBERT V. NORSTRÖM
Affiliation:
Natural Resource Management, Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
CARL FOLKE
Affiliation:
Natural Resource Management, Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, PO Box 50005, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
JOSHUA E. CINNER
Affiliation:
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
*
*Correspondence: Dr Jerker Lokrantz Tel: +46 8 164484 Fax: +46 8 158417 e-mail: jerker@ecology.su.se
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Summary

Fishing can have major impacts on the structure of coral reef ecosystems. Overfishing of herbivores is particularly detrimental, as it makes the coral system more likely to undergo shifts to macroalgal dominance in the event of coral mass mortality. Knowing when important processes, such as herbivory, are becoming brittle is important because it can provide an opportunity for managers to avoid undesirable ecosystem-level changes. This study investigates the impact of artisanal fishing on three important functional groups of herbivores (grazers, scrapers and excavators) on five coral-dominated reefs outside Zanzibar (Tanzania). There was a negative correlation between fishing pressure and fish biomass, abundance, diversity and species richness. Moreover, fishing had a negative influence on the demographic structure of functional groups, particularly excavators, manifesting itself as a skewness towards smaller individuals within populations. Artisanal fishing can have significant impacts on key functional groups of herbivorous reef fishes which may increase the vulnerability of coral reefs to undesirable ecosystem shifts.

Keywords

artisanal fishingcoral reefsecosystem functionfunctional groupsherbivoryresiliencevulnerabilityZanzibar

Information

Type
EC Perspectives
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 36 , Issue 4 , December 2009 , pp. 327 - 337
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2010

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