Ghost fishing is a threat to many marine environments, as lost or discarded fishing gear (e.g., fishing lines, nets) continues to fish by entangling, damaging or killing various organisms. Among the benthic organisms that live on tropical reefs, the group probably most affected, due to their shape, are the branching corals. These corals provide refuge, foraging and breeding sites, especially for fishes and therefore impacts on coral structure could compromise the ecology of associated species. We tested if fishing lines entangled on the branching coral Millepora alcicornis would result in an increase in colony mortality, decrease in abundance and richness of fishes and changes in the behavior of associated reef fish. In the field, we estimated the volume of M. alcicornis colonies and its mortality percentages, and videos were recorded to evaluate abundance and richness of fish assemblages and fish behavior. Our results showed that coral mortality increased with increasing amounts of entangled fishing lines. Fish assemblages were similar in M. alcicornis colonies with or without entangled fishing lines. Nevertheless, we observed a significant decrease in the frequency of feeding attempts in two herbivore fish species (Acanthurus bahianus and Ophioblennius trinitatis) that play an important role in coral-reef dynamics, controlling algae abundances. Therefore, ghost fishing has negative impacts on shallow reef ecosystems, directly affecting branching corals and important coral-fish interactions. Management of tropical shallow reef environments should consider regulation and monitoring of coastal fisheries to ensure reef integrity.

幻影捕鱼对许多海洋环境构成威胁，因为丢失或丢弃的渔具（例如，鱼线，渔网）继续通过纠缠，破坏或杀死各种生物而捕鱼。在生活在热带暗礁上的底栖生物中，由于形状的原因，受影响最大的群体是分支珊瑚。这些珊瑚提供了庇护，觅食和繁殖场所，尤其是鱼类，因此对珊瑚结构的影响可能会损害相关物种的生态。我们测试了在分枝的珊瑚Millepora alcicornis上缠上钓鱼线是否会导致殖民地死亡率的增加，鱼类的丰度和丰富度的下降以及相关暗礁鱼行为的变化。在野外，我们估算了M. alcicornis的体积殖民地及其死亡率百分比，并录制视频以评估鱼类种群的丰度和丰富度以及鱼类行为。我们的结果表明，随着钓鱼线数量的增加，珊瑚的死亡率也随之增加。在有或没有缠结的钓线的情况下，alcicornis菌群的鱼群相似。然而，我们观察到两种草食性鱼类（Acanthurus bahianus和Ophioblennius trinitatis）投饲次数的显着减少）在珊瑚礁动力学中起着重要作用，控制藻类的丰度。因此，幽灵捕鱼对浅层珊瑚礁生态系统具有负面影响，直接影响分支珊瑚和重要的珊瑚-鱼类相互作用。热带浅礁环境的管理应考虑对沿海渔业进行监管和监测，以确保礁石完整性。