The role of fish feces for nutrient cycling on coral reefs
Nina M. D. Schiettekatte
Jordan M. Casey
Simon J. Brandl
Alexandre Mercière
Sam Degregori
Deron Burkepile
Jacey C. Van Wert
Mattia Ghilardi
Sébastien Villéger
Valeriano Parravicini
Abstract
Consumers play an important role in biogeochemical cycles through the consumption and release of essential elements such as carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P). Indeed, a large proportion of consumed elements are released into the environment in inorganic (i.e. excretion) or organic form (i.e. egestion). On coral reefs, fishes represent the bulk of consumer biomass and thus play a key role in the recycling of nutrients. In recent years, excretion rates have been studied intensively, but less is known about the rate and quality of coral reef fish egestion. In this study, we quantify the elemental contents of fish feces, estimate absorption efficiencies and compare egestion and excretion rates for 51 coral reef fish species. We show that elemental concentrations decrease remarkably little from food to feces. This is due to extremely low absorption efficiencies, resulting in the egestion of large amounts of energy and nutrients. Moreover, we show that while the quality of fish feces varies across trophic guilds, it remains highly variable within trophic guilds. Finally, we demonstrate that the release of N and P through egestion outweighs the amount of nutrients recycled through excretion. Our study highlights the need to incorporate animal egestion into assessments of ecosystem functioning and food web structure.
Schiettekatte N.M.D., Casey J.M., Brandl S.J., Mercière A., Degregori S., Burkepile D., Van Wert J.C., Ghilardi M., Villéger S. and Parravicini V. (2023) The role of fish feces for nutrient cycling on coral reefs. Oikos. 10.1111/oik.09914
@article{Schiettekatte2023,
Title = {The role of fish feces for nutrient cycling on coral reefs},
Author = {Schiettekatte, Nina M. D. and Casey, Jordan M. and Brandl, Simon J. and Mercière, Alexandre and Degregori, Sam and Burkepile, Deron and Van Wert, Jacey C. and Ghilardi, Mattia and Villéger, Sébastien and Parravicini, Valeriano},
Editor = {},
Journal = {Oikos},
Year = {2023},
Doi = {10.1111/oik.09914},
Abstract = {Consumers play an important role in biogeochemical cycles through the consumption and release of essential elements such as carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P). Indeed, a large proportion of consumed elements are released into the environment in inorganic (i.e. excretion) or organic form (i.e. egestion). On coral reefs, fishes represent the bulk of consumer biomass and thus play a key role in the recycling of nutrients. In recent years, excretion rates have been studied intensively, but less is known about the rate and quality of coral reef fish egestion. In this study, we quantify the elemental contents of fish feces, estimate absorption efficiencies and compare egestion and excretion rates for 51 coral reef fish species. We show that elemental concentrations decrease remarkably little from food to feces. This is due to extremely low absorption efficiencies, resulting in the egestion of large amounts of energy and nutrients. Moreover, we show that while the quality of fish feces varies across trophic guilds, it remains highly variable within trophic guilds. Finally, we demonstrate that the release of N and P through egestion outweighs the amount of nutrients recycled through excretion. Our study highlights the need to incorporate animal egestion into assessments of ecosystem functioning and food web structure.},
}
TY - JOUR
AU - Schiettekatte, Nina M. D.
AU - Casey, Jordan M.
AU - Brandl, Simon J.
AU - Mercière, Alexandre
AU - Degregori, Sam
AU - Burkepile, Deron
AU - Van Wert, Jacey C.
AU - Ghilardi, Mattia
AU - Villéger, Sébastien
AU - Parravicini, Valeriano
TI - The role of fish feces for nutrient cycling on coral reefs
T2 - Oikos
PY - 2023
DO - 10.1111/oik.09914
AB - Consumers play an important role in biogeochemical cycles through the consumption and release of essential elements such as carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P). Indeed, a large proportion of consumed elements are released into the environment in inorganic (i.e. excretion) or organic form (i.e. egestion). On coral reefs, fishes represent the bulk of consumer biomass and thus play a key role in the recycling of nutrients. In recent years, excretion rates have been studied intensively, but less is known about the rate and quality of coral reef fish egestion. In this study, we quantify the elemental contents of fish feces, estimate absorption efficiencies and compare egestion and excretion rates for 51 coral reef fish species. We show that elemental concentrations decrease remarkably little from food to feces. This is due to extremely low absorption efficiencies, resulting in the egestion of large amounts of energy and nutrients. Moreover, we show that while the quality of fish feces varies across trophic guilds, it remains highly variable within trophic guilds. Finally, we demonstrate that the release of N and P through egestion outweighs the amount of nutrients recycled through excretion. Our study highlights the need to incorporate animal egestion into assessments of ecosystem functioning and food web structure.
ER -
