Data

Data for: McCormick MI, Fakan EP, Palacios, M. Habitat degradation and predators have independent trait-mediated effects on prey

James Cook University
McCormick, Mark ; Palacios Otero, Maria
Viewed: [[ro.stat.viewed]] Cited: [[ro.stat.cited]] Accessed: [[ro.stat.accessed]]
ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2FANDS&rft_id=info:doi10.25903/5cb82367e7f39&rft.title=Data for: McCormick MI, Fakan EP, Palacios, M. Habitat degradation and predators have independent trait-mediated effects on prey&rft.identifier=10.25903/5cb82367e7f39&rft.publisher=James Cook University&rft.description=Abstract [Related Publication]: Coral reefs are degrading globally leading to a catastrophic loss of biodiversity. While shifts in the species composition of communities have been well documented associated with habitat change, the mechanisms that underlie change are often poorly understood. This study experimentally examines the effects of coral degradation on trait-mediated effects of predators on the morphology, behaviour and performance of a juvenile coral reef fish. Juvenile damselfish were exposed to predators or controls (omnivore or nothing) in seawater that had passed over either live coral or dead-degraded coral. Despite previous research predicting that the chemistry from dead-degraded coral would alter non-consumptive predator effects, there were only minor effects on the traits of juvenile damselfish relative to the impact of the presence of predator cues over the 45d experimental period. No interaction between water source and predator exposure was found. Fish exposed to degraded water had larger false eyespots relative to the size of their true eyes, which may lead to a survival advantage. They were also more active, which may increase spatial awareness and the capacity to learn the risks associated with local community members. Non-consumptive effects of predators on prey that occurred regardless of water source included longer and deeper bodies, large false eyespots that may distract predator strikes away from the vulnerable head region, and shorter latencies in their response to a simulated predator strike. Trait-mediated effects originating from the chemistry of the water from degraded coral affect morphology and performance of fish and may enhance survival in a habitat that diminishes their capacity to assess risks. This mechanism may promote greater resilience to habitat change than may otherwise be predicted.The full methodology is available in the Open Access publication from the Related Publications link below.&rft.creator=McCormick, Mark &rft.creator=Palacios Otero, Maria &rft.date=2019&rft.coverage=145.44181358533,-14.681173763254 145.44255784015,-14.680073450095 145.44291417816,-14.678804504114 145.4428477185,-14.677491136791 145.44236496672,-14.676261910018 145.44151317792,-14.675237151429 145.44037573112,-14.674517174998 145.43906396754,-14.674172460279 145.43770629174,-14.674236752146 145.43643560248,-14.674703756916 145.43537628369,-14.675527758555 145.43463202887,-14.676628094581 145.43427569086,-14.677897053188 145.43434215051,-14.679210418074 145.4348249023,-14.680439628277 145.4356766911,-14.681464362493 145.4368141379,-14.682184316058 145.43812590148,-14.682529018151 145.43948357728,-14.682464728721 145.44075426654,-14.681997740521 145.44181358533,-14.681173763254&rft.coverage=Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia&rft_rights=&rft_rights=CC BY-NC: Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 AU http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/au&rft_subject=coral reef fish&rft_subject=trait-mediated predator effect&rft_subject=fear effect&rft_subject=predator-prey&rft_subject=behavioural ecology&rft_subject=ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies&rft.type=dataset&rft.language=English Access the data

Licence & Rights:

Non-Commercial Licence view details
CC-BY-NC

CC BY-NC: Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 AU
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/au

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Open: free access under license

Full description

Abstract [Related Publication]: Coral reefs are degrading globally leading to a catastrophic loss of biodiversity. While shifts in the species composition of communities have been well documented associated with habitat change, the mechanisms that underlie change are often poorly understood. This study experimentally examines the effects of coral degradation on trait-mediated effects of predators on the morphology, behaviour and performance of a juvenile coral reef fish. Juvenile damselfish were exposed to predators or controls (omnivore or nothing) in seawater that had passed over either live coral or dead-degraded coral. Despite previous research predicting that the chemistry from dead-degraded coral would alter non-consumptive predator effects, there were only minor effects on the traits of juvenile damselfish relative to the impact of the presence of predator cues over the 45d experimental period. No interaction between water source and predator exposure was found. Fish exposed to degraded water had larger false eyespots relative to the size of their true eyes, which may lead to a survival advantage. They were also more active, which may increase spatial awareness and the capacity to learn the risks associated with local community members. Non-consumptive effects of predators on prey that occurred regardless of water source included longer and deeper bodies, large false eyespots that may distract predator strikes away from the vulnerable head region, and shorter latencies in their response to a simulated predator strike. Trait-mediated effects originating from the chemistry of the water from degraded coral affect morphology and performance of fish and may enhance survival in a habitat that diminishes their capacity to assess risks. This mechanism may promote greater resilience to habitat change than may otherwise be predicted.

The full methodology is available in the Open Access publication from the Related Publications link below.

Notes

This dataset is available as a spreadsheet saved in both MS Excel (.xlsx) and Open Document (.ods) formats. The dataset contains two sheets: Data and Key & Variable CODES)

Created: 2019-04-18

Data time period: 10 2017 to 16 12 2017

This dataset is part of a larger collection

Click to explore relationships graph

145.44181,-14.68117 145.44256,-14.68007 145.44291,-14.6788 145.44285,-14.67749 145.44236,-14.67626 145.44151,-14.67524 145.44038,-14.67452 145.43906,-14.67417 145.43771,-14.67424 145.43644,-14.6747 145.43538,-14.67553 145.43463,-14.67663 145.43428,-14.6779 145.43434,-14.67921 145.43482,-14.68044 145.43568,-14.68146 145.43681,-14.68218 145.43813,-14.68253 145.43948,-14.68246 145.44075,-14.682 145.44181,-14.68117

145.43859493451,-14.678350739215

text: Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

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Identifiers
  • DOI : 10.25903/5CB82367E7F39
  • Local : researchdata.jcu.edu.au//published/78598f949de3a9d8a6eeed978493d932
  • Local : 4481e018b319614c6895263a9432128f