Environmental determinants of motile cryptofauna on an eastern Pacific coral reef

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 438:105-118 (2011) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09259 Environmental determinants of motile cryptofauna on an eastern Pacific coral reef Ian C. Enochs1,2,*, Lauren T. Toth3, Viktor W. Brandtneris4, Jamie C. Afflerbach4, Derek P. Manzello1,2 1Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy., Miami, Florida 33149, USA 2Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratories (AOML), National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 4301 Rickenbacker Cswy., Miami, Florida 33149, USA 3Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Boulevard, Melbourne, Florida 32901, USA 4Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy., Miami, Florida 33149, USA *Email: ian.enochs@noaa.gov ABSTRACT: Coral reef cryptofauna, which live hidden within reef framework structures, are considered to be the most diverse group of coral reef metazoans. They likely comprise more biomass than all surface fauna, providing food sources for fishes and playing important roles as predators, herbivores, detritivores, filter feeders, and scavengers. In an era of global change, it is necessary to determine how these communities are structured across reef habitats as well as to understand how reef framework degradation will impact the cryptofauna and, by extension, ecosystem function. Artificial reef framework units were constructed from coral rubble to approxi­mate framework substrates. Forty replicates were subjected to treatments of differing porosity, flow, and coral cover in a fully crossed ANOVA design. After 2 mo in situ, all motile cryptofauna (>2 mm) were counted, weighed, and identified to the lowest possible level. A total of 11309 specimens were collected, comprising >121 species from 6 separate phyla. Cryptofaunal abundances and biomass were higher in low-porosity crypts and biomass was greater in slow-flow environments, highlighting the importance of sheltered low-porosity habitats, such as back-reef rubble plains. The presence of live coral was not found to have a significant effect on the motile cryptofauna occupying the dead coral framework below it, suggesting a high degree of resilience in how framework-dwelling fauna respond to coral mortality. These data support the assertion that artificial reefs are capable of facilitating the accumulation of a diverse cryptic community, independent of live coral, provided they contain suitably porous crypts. KEY WORDS: Coelobite · Framework · Biodiversity · Porosity · Flow · Coral cover Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Enochs IC, Toth LT, Brandtneris VW, Afflerbach JC, Manzello DP (2011) Environmental determinants of motile cryptofauna on an eastern Pacific coral reef. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 438:105-118. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09259 Export citation Mail this link - Contents Mailing Lists - RSS Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 438. Online publication date: October 05, 2011 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2011 Inter-Research.