Mobile reef fishes as drivers of metacommunity dynamics in benthic cyanobacterial mats

Abstract Benthic cyanobacterial mats (BCMs) have become increasingly dominant components of many coral reef ecosystems worldwide, yet the processes governing their persistence remain generally poorly resolved. We argue that BCMs represent quintessential metacommunities that may be governed, in large part, by mobile links that connect spatially distinct mat communities via dispersal of propagules, trophic interactions, and/or resource deposition. Specifically, we discuss the ways that reef fishes, particularly parrotfishes, might affect BCM metacommunity dynamics through the lens of the four major metacommunity archetypes—patch dynamics, mass effects, species sorting, and neutral models. We highlight BCMs as a case study for a general integration of mobile links and metacommunity theory. This integration has the potential to initiate substantial advances in our understanding of BCM dynamics on reefs and community ecology more broadly.