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Habitat loss, resource specialization and extinction on coral reefs

Munday, Philip L. (2004) Habitat loss, resource specialization and extinction on coral reefs. Global change biology, 10 (10). pp. 1642-1647. ISSN 1354-1013

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Alternative Location: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00839.x, http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/gcb

Abstract

Coral reefs worldwide are being degraded due to global warming (coral bleaching) and coastal development (sedimentation and eutrophication). Predicting the risk of species extinctions from this type of habitat degradation is one of the most challenging and urgent tasks facing ecologists. Habitat specialists are thought to be more prone to extinction than generalists; however specialists may be more susceptible to extinction because, 1) they are specialists per se, 2) because they are less abundant than generalists, or 3) both. Here I show that declines in coral abundance lead to corresponding declines in the abundance of coral-dwelling fishes, but with proportionally greater losses to specialists than generalists. In addition, specialists have smaller initial population sizes than generalists. Consequently, specialists face a dual risk of extinction because their already small populations decline more rapidly than those of generalists. Corresponding with this increased extinction risk, I describe the local extinction of one specialist species and the near-global extinction of another species. I conclude that habitat specialists will be the first species lost from coral reefs because their small populations suffer the most from human-induced disturbances.

Item Type:Article
Additional Information:Copyright 2004 Blackwell Publishing. The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com
Keywords:habitat specialisation, extinction risk, global warming, population decline, endangered species, Papua New Guinea, coral reef fish, Gobiodon, Gobiidae, Acropora
Subjects:270000 Biological Sciences > 270700 Ecology and Evolution > 270708 Conservation and Biodiversity
270000 Biological Sciences > 270700 Ecology and Evolution > 270702 Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology)
ID Code:692
Deposited By:Philip Munday
Deposited On:25 May 2007
Last Modified:15 Oct 2008 12:04

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