Habitat degradation increases interspecific trophic competition between three spiny lobsters in Seychelles

Type Article
Date 2021-08
Language English
Author(s) Sabino Magali A.ORCID1, 2, Govinden Rodney1, Pethybridge Heidi3, Blamey LauraORCID4, Le Grand Fabienne5, Sardenne FanyORCID5, Rose Maria1, Bustamante Paco2, 6, Bodin NathalieORCID1, 7, 8
Affiliation(s) 1 : Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), Fishing Port, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles
2 : Littoral Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France
3 : CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
4 : CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
5 : Univ Brest, CNRS, IRD, Ifremer, LEMAR, IUEM, F-29280, Plouzané, France
6 : Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 1 rue Descartes, 75005, Paris, France
7 : Institute for Research and Development (IRD), Fishing Port, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles
8 : Sustainable Ocean Seychelles (SOS), BeauBelle, Mahé, Seychelles
Source Estuarine Coastal And Shelf Science (0272-7714) (Elsevier BV), 2021-08 , Vol. 256 , P. 107368 (9p.)
DOI 10.1016/j.ecss.2021.107368
WOS© Times Cited 3
Keyword(s) Resource partitioning, Climate change, Coral bleaching, Decapod crustaceans, Benthic predators, Western Indian Ocean
Abstract

Spiny lobsters (P. penicillatus, P. longipes and P. versicolor) are heavily dependent on habitats like coral reefs, known to be highly vulnerable to climate change-driven degradation. Yet, little is known about their trophic ecology and their adaptive capacity to a changing environment. In this study, we used fatty acids (FA) analysed in the hepatopancreas and δ13C and δ15N stable isotopes analysed in tail muscle of three spiny lobster species from Seychelles coastal waters to (1) infer habitat usage, dietary patterns and potential for resource competition and (2) investigate the effects of reef type and coral bleaching on their trophic niche metrics. We found that there was a potential for interspecific competition between the three species, shown by their high dietary overlap (FA niche overlap ranging from 71.2% to 99.5% for P. longipes and P. versicolor in P. penicillatus) and similar habitat use (δ13C value ranges). P. penicillatus was more a generalist than the two other species (i.e., had larger FA niche) and P. versicolor seemed to feed on smaller/earlier life stage prey than P. longipes (based on differences in δ15N values), possibly allowing for their coexistence. The potential for resource competition of Seychelles spiny lobsters appeared higher in granite than carbonate reefs and in post-2016 coral bleaching reefs. Our results suggest that P. penicillatus could have a greater adaptive capacity to climate change due to its higher dietary plasticity and that competition between Seychelles spiny lobsters may increase in the future as the frequency and severity of bleaching events is predicted to increase with climate change.

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Sabino Magali A., Govinden Rodney, Pethybridge Heidi, Blamey Laura, Le Grand Fabienne, Sardenne Fany, Rose Maria, Bustamante Paco, Bodin Nathalie (2021). Habitat degradation increases interspecific trophic competition between three spiny lobsters in Seychelles. Estuarine Coastal And Shelf Science, 256, 107368 (9p.). Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2021.107368 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00689/80145/