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During prolonged heat stress, corals expel zooxanthellae algae that provide them with essential energy and color. Surviving corals are more susceptible to disease and take years to regain their previous productivity.
Nibbling less nutritious corals provided a "plausible explanation" for the observed decrease in aggressive behavior, the paper says. Individuals were forced to move further to get enough food to survive, "making investment in aggressive defense too expensive," he said.
With less energy, butterfly fish reduced their aggressive behavior by an average of two-thirds, the researchers found.Credit:Coral Reef Studies from ARC CoE
A consequence of the behavioral change could be a rewrite of the "rules of engagement" between the species and possible "ecological traps in the longer term if the disturbance persists".
"Identifying behavioral changes at an early stage could provide a potential early warning of demographic and community changes," the paper said.
David Booth, professor of marine ecology at the Sydney University of Technology, who was not among the authors, said the document was "very powerful", given the wide geographical distribution of sites including Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.
This aggression dropped even as resources dwindled, and it was particularly interesting as it could have been expected on the contrary with a shorter supply of food, he said.
"One of the consequences they see is the loss of key behaviors such as territoriality, so I wonder if corals never recover in these areas, we risk losing important behaviors," he said. he declared. "Given the importance of butterflyfish as functional groups on the reefs, this could disrupt other interactions."
The research comes as the Marine Park Authority's Great Barrier Reef and other agencies are considering the prospects of another coral bleaching event in the waters off the coast. Australia this summer.
Russell Reichelt, the outgoing leader of this authority, said in the Senate Monday, according to estimates, that the possibility of an El Nino event in the Pacific – exposed 70% to the risks of the Bureau of Meteorology for the end of the year. Year – increased the chances of a new whitening event this summer.
According to the coral reef monitoring service of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, much of the Great Barrier Reef had at least one "laundering" beach in January.
Peter Hannam is environmental editor at the Sydney Morning Herald. It covers broad environmental issues ranging from climate change to renewable energy for Fairfax Media.
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