Coral loss is a major element of global ecological change in the oceans that may shape the behavior of keystone species such as habitat-attached animals. Farming damselfishes cultivate and aggressively protect algal garden within their territory, thereby shaping local fish assemblages and macro-algae diversity. Following the widespread loss of live branching coral throughout Florida and the Caribbean Sea, dusky damselfish ( Stegastes adustus ) have modified their territorial behavior. We compared antagonistic behavior, and size and algal species composition of territories of dusky damselfish on dead branching coral rubble and live boulder coral in the Dry Tortugas National Park, USA. Even though similar numbers of “intruders” entered each habitat type, dusky damselfish on rubble territories chased out significantly more fishes, had larger territories and more species of algae were present in their gardens. This study shows that dusky damselfish successfully occupy living and dead coral areas; however, there are potential trade-offs between defending a larger territory and cultivating fewer algal species.

中文翻译：

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珊瑚损失改变了加勒比雀鲷的守卫和养殖行为

珊瑚流失是全球海洋生态变化的一个主要因素，它可能会影响栖息地附着动物等关键物种的行为。养殖雀鲷在其领土内培育和积极保护藻类花园，从而塑造当地鱼类组合和大型藻类多样性。随着佛罗里达州和加勒比海的活珊瑚大量消失，暗淡的雀鲷 (Stegastes adustus) 改变了它们的领地行为。我们比较了美国干龟岛国家公园死分枝珊瑚碎石和活巨石珊瑚上的暗淡雀鲷领土的对抗行为、大小和藻类物种组成。尽管进入每种栖息地类型的“入侵者”数量相似，但在瓦砾地带的暗色雀鲷会追逐更多的鱼类，他们的领地更大，花园里有更多的藻类。这项研究表明，暗淡的雀鲷成功地占据了活珊瑚和死珊瑚区域；然而，在保护更大的领土和培育更少的藻类物种之间存在潜在的权衡。