Climate change affects the ecology of reef fish through changing their habitat, community and their feeding and territorial behavior. The corals and their associated reef fish in the Persian Gulf as the world’s warmest sea suffer from the increasing frequency and severity of mass bleaching events. Yet, the effects of climate-induced coral bleaching events on reef fish in this sea are poorly understood. Using a time series fish count data, this study evaluated the response of reef fish to multiple severe coral bleaching events in Kish Island located in the central Persian Gulf. The results showed a decline in species richness and diversity of reef fish after bleaching events which reduced mean coral cover by 85% following the 2007 bleaching event and by 95% following the 2017 bleaching event. Besides a drop in the number of fish species, the total density, and density of trophic groups changed as the results of coral loss. The variation in density of different trophic groups indicated an overall increase in the abundance of benthic invertebrate feeders (21.2–136.3%), omnivores (32.4–163.4%) and plankton feeders (218.5–488%). In contrast, the abundance of coral polyp feeders (−6.9 to −50%) and piscivores (−4.9 to −38.9%) significantly decreased after bleaching events. The density of herbivorous fish significantly increased by 97.1% after the bleaching event in 2007 and decreased by 10.5% after the bleaching event in 2017. In the present study, we demonstrated how the impact of the multiple bleaching events on associated reef fish assemblages sustained for about 6 years after the disturbance. These results have significant implications for our understanding of the response of reef fish to global warming and highlight the growing concern about the future of coral reef ecosystems and their associated reef fish in the region as the warmest sea in the world.

中文翻译：

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世界最温暖海域（基什岛、波斯湾）多次白化事件后珊瑚鱼群的变化

气候变化通过改变珊瑚鱼的栖息地、群落及其摄食和领土行为来影响珊瑚鱼的生态。波斯湾是世界上最温暖的海域，珊瑚及其相关的珊瑚礁鱼类遭受大规模白化事件日益频繁和严重的影响。然而，气候引起的珊瑚白化事件对这片海域的珊瑚鱼的影响知之甚少。本研究使用时间序列鱼类计数数据，评估了珊瑚鱼对位于波斯湾中部基什岛的多次严重珊瑚白化事件的反应。结果显示，白化事件后珊瑚鱼的物种丰富度和多样性下降，在 2007 年白化事件后平均珊瑚覆盖率减少了 85%，在 2017 年白化事件后减少了 95%。除了鱼类种类的减少，由于珊瑚流失，总密度和营养群密度发生了变化。不同营养组密度的变化表明底栖无脊椎动物饲养者（21.2-136.3%）、杂食动物（32.4-163.4%）和浮游生物饲养者（218.5-488%）的丰度总体增加。相比之下，珊瑚虫饲养者（-6.9 至 -50%）和食鱼动物（-4.9 至 -38.9%）的丰度在漂白事件后显着减少。2007 年白化事件后食草鱼的密度显着增加了 97.1%，2017 年白化事件后下降了 10.5%。在本研究中，我们展示了多次白化事件对相关珊瑚礁鱼类组合的影响如何持续大约 6 年后的扰动。