Temporal changes in hamlet communities
New Publication: Our field trip to Puerto Rico provided us with the opportunity to assess the development of hamlet communities over time.
Authors: K. Hench, W. O. Mcmillan, R. Betancur‐R & O. Puebla
Journal: Journal of Fish Biology
Abstract: (access from publisher)
Transect surveys of hamlet communities (Hypoplectrus spp., Serranidae) covering 14 000 m2 across 16 reefs off La Parguera, Puerto Rico, are presented and compared with a previous survey conducted in the year 2000. The hamlet community has noticeably changed over 17 years, with a > 30% increase in relative abundance of the yellowtail hamlet Hypoplectrus chlorurus on the inner reefs at the expense of the other hamlet species.
The data also suggest that the density of H. chlorurus has declined and that its distribution has shifted towards shallower depths. Considering that H. chlorurus has been previously identified as one of the few fish showing a positive association with seawater turbidity on the inner reefs of La Parguera and that sedimentation of terrestrial origin has increased over recent decades on these reefs, it is proposed that turbidity may constitute an important but so far overlooked ecological driver of hamlet communities.
References
Hench, Kosmas, W. Owen McMillan, Ricardo Betancur-R, and Oscar Puebla. 2017. “Temporal changes in hamlet communities (Hypoplectrus spp., Serranidae) over 17 years.” Journal of Fish Biology 91 (5): 1475–90. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13481.
