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Opportunistic spongivore fishes in a reef of Gulf of Mannar, India

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Abstract

The Gulf of Mannar (GoM) in southeast India is known for its coral reefs and associated biodiversity. Multiple coral bleaching events driven by global climate change and subsequent space competition have damaged the coral reefs of GoM during the past couple of decades. Certain marine sponges are space competitors to corals and can outgrow corals by overgrowing. Spongivore fishes play vital role in regulating sponge abundance in a reef. The present study was aimed to identify spongivore fishes at Pattinamaruthoor patch reef (55.25% coral cover) in Tuticorin coast of GoM. Gut content analysis and underwater assessment were carried out between March and September 2019. Known spongivores such as Apolemichthys xanthurus, Pomacanthus annularis and P. imperator had about 75, 50 and 80% of their diet as sponge. Other fishes such as Sargocentron rubrum (30%), Myripristis murdjan (30%) and Scarus ghobban (10%) were also found to feed on sponges which are not regular sponge feeders. It is presumed that increased availability of sponges as a result of climate change has made these fishes opportunistically feed on sponges. A total of 58 reef fish species including obligate and opportunistic sponge feeders were observed at Pattinamaruthoor patch reef. Protection of spongivore fishes from overexploitation is critical as it could allow corals to recover from climate change implications.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, for funding support (DST-SERB Sanction order No. EMR/2017/002S10).

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  1. Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute, 44-Beach Road, Tuticorin, 628 001, Tamil Nadu, India

    Jonathan Samuel Emmett, K. Diraviya Raj, G. Mathews & R. L. Laju

  2. Registration No. 19217022241001, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, India

    Jonathan Samuel Emmett

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Jonathan Samuel Emmett and K. Diraviya Raj—design, data collection and writing. R.L Laju and G. Mathews—data collection and data analysis.

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Emmett, J.S., Raj, K.D., Mathews, G. et al. Opportunistic spongivore fishes in a reef of Gulf of Mannar, India. Environ Biol Fish 104, 1251–1262 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01150-3

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