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<p>The increasing intensity and frequency of mass coral bleaching are expected to significantly affect reef fishes, with disproportionate effects on specialist obligate corallivores. Bleaching-induced coral mortality reduces food availability and degrades habitats, threatening survival of these highly coral-dependent species. While post-disturbance consequences of coral bleaching are well documented, immediate behavioral responses during active bleaching events remain underexplored. Here, we examined the feeding preferences of six obligate corallivores—three butterflyfishes, two tubelip wrasses, and one filefish—during the 2024 mass bleaching event in Okinawa Island, southern Japan. Using 192 five-minute underwater focal observations (18–37 individuals per species), we quantified their feeding frequencies across coral morphologies and bleaching conditions. We also compared their abundances on the reef flat and slope before and after bleaching. Dietary breadth and preferences varied markedly among species. All species fed on bleached corals, although unbleached corals were significantly preferred. Following a 40–93% relative loss in hard coral cover, all species experienced strong but varying declines in abundance. <i>Chaetodon trifascialis</i> and <i>Oxymonacanthus longirostris,</i> both heavily reliant on thermally sensitive <i>Acropora,</i> disappeared entirely from the reef flat, whereas generalist corallivores persisted despite reduced abundances. These findings provide clear evidence that even within a specialized feeding guild, vulnerability to bleaching varies with dietary specialization, behavioral flexibility, and the availability and thermal susceptibility of preferred coral prey. Understanding these interactions is critical for predicting the persistence of obligate corallivores on increasingly degraded reefs.</p>

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Differential feeding preferences and population responses of six obligate corallivore fishes during a mass coral bleaching event

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年10月6日

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  • Rickdane Gomez,
  • Lucas Yutaka Kimura,
  • Takashi Nakamura

摘要

The increasing intensity and frequency of mass coral bleaching are expected to significantly affect reef fishes, with disproportionate effects on specialist obligate corallivores. Bleaching-induced coral mortality reduces food availability and degrades habitats, threatening survival of these highly coral-dependent species. While post-disturbance consequences of coral bleaching are well documented, immediate behavioral responses during active bleaching events remain underexplored. Here, we examined the feeding preferences of six obligate corallivores—three butterflyfishes, two tubelip wrasses, and one filefish—during the 2024 mass bleaching event in Okinawa Island, southern Japan. Using 192 five-minute underwater focal observations (18–37 individuals per species), we quantified their feeding frequencies across coral morphologies and bleaching conditions. We also compared their abundances on the reef flat and slope before and after bleaching. Dietary breadth and preferences varied markedly among species. All species fed on bleached corals, although unbleached corals were significantly preferred. Following a 40–93% relative loss in hard coral cover, all species experienced strong but varying declines in abundance. Chaetodon trifascialis and Oxymonacanthus longirostris, both heavily reliant on thermally sensitive Acropora, disappeared entirely from the reef flat, whereas generalist corallivores persisted despite reduced abundances. These findings provide clear evidence that even within a specialized feeding guild, vulnerability to bleaching varies with dietary specialization, behavioral flexibility, and the availability and thermal susceptibility of preferred coral prey. Understanding these interactions is critical for predicting the persistence of obligate corallivores on increasingly degraded reefs.