Mary C Bonin

Great Barrier Reef Foundation · COTS Control Innovation Program

Abstract. Crown-of-thorns sea stars (Acanthaster sp.) are among the most studied coral reef organisms, owing to their propensity to undergo major population irruptions, which contribute to significant coral loss and reef degradation throughout the Indo-Pacific. However, there are still important knowledge gaps pertaining to the biology, ecology, an...

On coral reefs, many small coral-associated fishes exhibit high levels of habitat specialisation, which can contribute to their susceptibility to habitat loss. However, high levels of habitat partitioning may buffer communities from the loss of particular habitat types. This study provides a quantitative evaluation of habitat specialisation, substr...

Habitat area and fragmentation are recognised as important factors that influence population size, community structure and extinction risk. Abundance and species richness universally increase with habitat area. However, the effects of different aspects of habitat fragmentation, including variation in patch size, number and isolation are often not d...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) outbreaks are a globally significant driver of coral mortality in the Indo-Pacific and work synergistically with other disturbances. We argue that our improved understanding of COTS ecology and ability to monitor their populations, combined with new efficiencies in COTS control technologies, provides a sound basis fo...

The crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS), Acanthaster cf. solaris, is one of the main contributors to declines in coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and remains one of the major acute disturbances on coral reefs throughout much of the Indo-Pacific. Extensive control programs on the GBR involve manual culling of COTS in the field, and research i...

There is increasing evidence that non-reef habitats in the seascape surrounding coral reefs are widely used by reef-associated fishes. However, our understanding of seascape use in the Indo-Pacific region is incomplete due to its large geographical range and as a consequence, considerable environmental variation (e.g. tidal regimes). We used remote...

Population outbreaks of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS; Acanthaster spp.) are a major contributor to loss of hard coral throughout the Indo-Pacific. On Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR), management interventions have evolved over four COTS outbreaks to include: (1) manual COTS control, (2) Marine Protected Area (MPA) zoning, and, (3) water quali...

The corallivorous Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (CoTS, Acanthaster spp.) has been linked with the widespread loss of scleractinian coral cover on Indo-Pacific reefs during periodic population outbreaks. Here, we re-examine CoTS consumption by coral reef fish species by using new DNA technologies to detect Pacific Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf...

This report outlines an ecologically-informed framework for the management of day-to-day operations of the Expanded Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris, hereafter COTS) Control Program on the Great Barrier Reef. This framework links COTS ecology to Control Program decisions by providing a structured decision process within and amongst...

Marine ecology seeks to understand the factors that shape biological communities. Progress towards this goal has been hampered by habitat‐centric approaches that ignore the influence of the wider seascape. Coral reef fishes may use non‐reef habitats (e.g. mangrove and seagrass) extensively, yet most studies have focused on within‐reef attributes or...

Tropical reefs have experienced an unprecedented loss of live coral in the past few decades and the biodiversity of coral-dependent species is under threat. Many reef fish species decline in abundance as coral cover is lost, yet the mechanisms responsible for these losses are largely unknown. A commonly hypothesised cause of fish decline is the los...

Large-scale population outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS, Acanthaster spp.) have occurred in every nation with substantial coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific during the past few decades. While a multitude of control efforts have been trialed to combat the outbreaks, an efficient solution has remained elusive. Recent developments have how...

Larval dispersal is a critical yet enigmatic process in the persistence and productivity of marine metapopulations. Empirical data on larval dispersal remain scarce, hindering the use of spatial management tools in efforts to sustain ocean biodiversity and fisheries. Here we document dispersal among subpopulations of clownfish (Amphiprion percula)...

Habitat edges commonly support discrete communities compared to adjoining habitats in response to unique boundary conditions. Coral reefs are often adjacent to other habitats, e.g. sand or seagrass meadows, but little is known about how reef-associated organisms respond to the presence of edges. Here, we examined fish communities and benthic assemb...

Larval dispersal is the key process by which populations of most marine fishes and invertebrates are connected and replenished. Advances in larval tagging and genetics have enhanced our capacity to track larval dispersal, assess scales of population connectivity, and quantify larval exchange among no-take marine reserves and fished areas. Recent st...

Acute environmental disturbances impact on habitat quality and resource availability, which can reverberate through trophic levels and become apparent in species’ dietary composition. In this study, we observed a distinct dietary shift of newly settled and juvenile coral trout (Plectropomus maculatus) following severe coral reef habitat degradation...

Although competition is recognized as a core ecological process, its prevalence and importance in coral reef fish communities have been debated. Here we compile and synthesize the results of 173 experimental tests of competition from 72 publications. We show that evidence for competition is pervasive both within and between species, with 72% of int...

The development of parentage analysis to track the dispersal of juvenile offspring has given us unprecedented insight into the population dynamics of coral reef fishes. These tools now have the potential to inform fisheries management and species conservation, particularly for small fragmented populations under threat from exploitation and disturba...

Anemonefish are iconic symbols of coral reefs and have become model systems for research on larval dispersal and population connectivity in coral reef fishes. Here we present 24 novel microsatellite markers across four species of anemonefish and also test 35 previously published markers for cross-amplification on two anemonefish species in order to...

Although habitat degradation is predicted to exacerbate competition for critical resources, the relationship between habitat quality and competition is poorly understood. In this study we used a manipulative experiment to test the effects of habitat degradation on competition between two planktivorous, coral-dwelling damselfishes; Chrysiptera para...

Photo 1. Like many coral reef fish, the damselfish Chrysiptera parasema relies on delicate branching corals such as Acropora subglabra as habitat. These critical coral habitats are increasingly being degraded and destroyed by the combined impacts of severe tropical storms, increased sedimentation, and coral bleaching. Photograph by Mary C. Bonin. M...

Disturbance can result in the fragmentation and/or loss of suitable habitat, both of which can have important consequences for survival, species interactions, and resulting patterns of local diversity. However, effects of habitat loss and fragmentation are typically confounded during disturbance events, and previous attempts to determine their rela...

Coral reef habitats are increasingly being degraded and destroyed by a range of disturbances, most notably climate-induced coral bleaching. Habitat specialists, particularly those associated with susceptible coral species, are clearly among the most vulnerable to population decline or extinction. However, the degree of specialization on coral micro...

Coral bleaching is becoming an increasingly common disturbance on coral reefs, and although corals can remain bleached for months prior to recovery or death, little is known about how bleaching affects the associated fish community. The present study reports on recruitment and persistence of coral-dwelling fishes during a natural coral bleaching ev...

Microhabitat type and the competition for microhabitats can each influence patterns of abundance and mortality in coral reef fish communities; however, the effect of microhabitat on the intensity and outcome of competition is not well understood. In Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, surveys were used to quantify microhabitat use and selectivity in two l...

Coral bleaching is becoming an increasingly common disturbance on coral reefs, and although corals can remain bleached for months prior to recovery or death, little is known about how bleaching affects the associated fish community. The present study reports on recruitment and persistence of coral-dwelling fishes during a natural coral bleaching ev...