Fluctuations in coral reef fish densities after environmental disturbances on the northern Great Barrier Reef

Global warming is predicted to increase the frequency and or severity of many disturbances including cyclones, storms, and prolonged heatwaves. The coral reef at Lizard Island, part of the Great Barrier Reef, has been recently exposed to a sequence of severe tropical cyclones (i.e., Ita in 2014 and Nathan in 2015) and a coral bleaching in the year 2016. Reef fishes are an essential part of the coral reef ecosystem, and their abundance is thus a good marker to estimate the magnitude of such disturbances. Here, we examined whether the recent disturbances at Lizard Island had an impact on the coral reef fish communities. To do this, we examined fish survey data collected before and after the disturbances for potential changes in total fish density post-disturbance. Also, by sorting fish species into 11 functional groups based on their trophic level (i.e., diet), we further explored the density changes within each functional group. Our findings showed an overall decline of 68% in fish density post-disturbance, with a significant density decrease in nine of 11 trophic groups. These nine groups were: browsers, corallivores, detritivores, excavator/scrapers, grazers, macro-invertivores, pisci-invertivores, planktivores, and spongivores. The piscivores, on the other hand, were the only “winners,” wherein their density showed an increase post-disturbance. These changes within functional groups might have a further impact on the trophodynamics of the food web. In summary, our findings provide evidence that the fish assemblage on the reefs around Lizard Island was considerably affected by extreme weather events, leading to changes in the functional composition of the reef fish assemblage.