Asynchronous population trends stabilize mesopredatory coral reef fish communities in the face of global change
Biodiversity can underpin stability in communities, allowing them to withstand environmental fluctuations without changes in aggregate properties like total abundance or biomass. We investigated the influence of biodiversity on two crucial population-level mechanisms governing abundance stability in mesopredatory coral reef fishes: (i) ’community asynchrony’, where species populations fluctuate inversely over time, and (ii) ’species population stability’, where highly abundant species with significant community contributions display minimal population fluctuations. Analyzing temporal data from 81 reef fish communities across the Indian and Pacific Oceans over a decade, we found that community asynchrony, rather than species population stability, primarily predicts community stability. Functional diversity, not taxonomic diversity, characterised this stability, emphasizing the role of niche differences in stabilizing communities. We highlight that community attributes that promote asynchronous population fluctuations, enhancing response diversity and tempering strong trophic interactions, are vital for stabilizing mesopredatory reef fish communities in the face of global change.
Authors
- Rucha Karkarey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2017-2075)
- Dan A. Exton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8885-5828)
- Thomas H. Holmes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5383-7603)
- Mehdi Adjeroud (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6825-8759)
- Nicholas A. J. Graham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0304-7467)
- Jérémy Carlot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0887-8005)
- Shaun K. Wilson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4590-0948)
- Eva Maire (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1032-3394)
- Teresa Alcoverro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3910-9594)
- Simon J. Brandl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6649-2496)
- Rohan Arthur (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4267-9720)
- Julien Wickel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2717-6877)
- Sally A. Keith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9634-2763)
- Valériano Parravicini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3408-1625)
- Jordan S. Goetze (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3090-9763)
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Australian Institute of Marine Science (AU)
- Université de Perpignan (FR)
- Ifremer (FR)
- École Pratique des Hautes Études (FR)
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- Université de Montpellier (FR)
- Curtin University (AU)
- Operation Wallacea (GB)
- University of Reunion Island (RE)
- Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (ES)
- Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation (FR)
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (AU)
- Marex (Norway) (NO)
- Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche (FR)
- Western Australian Marine Science Institution (AU)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
- Lancaster University (GB)
- Nature Conservation Foundation (IN)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Oikos
- Published
- 2026-08-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/oik.11371
- Primary Topic
- Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00