A trophic model of fringing coral reefs in Nanwan Bay, southern Taiwan suggests overfishing

• Published in: Marine environmental research Vol. 68; no. 3; pp. 106 - 117
• Main Authors: Liu, Pi-Jen, Shao, Kwang-Tsao, Jan, Rong-Quen, Fan, Tung-Yung, Wong, Saou-Lien, Hwang, Jiang-Shiou, Chen, Jen-Ping, Chen, Chung-Chi, Lin, Hsing-Juh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2009; Elsevier; Elsevier science
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Anthozoa - physiology; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomass; Compartments; Coral reefs; Corals; Cycles; Dominance; Ecopath; Exploitation and management of natural biological resources (hunting, fishing and exploited populations survey, etc.); Fish; Fisheries; Fishes; Food Chain; Food web; Foods; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Invertebrates; Macroalgae; Marine; Models, Biological; Network analysis; Oceans and Seas; Phase shift; Reefs; Sea water ecosystems; Synecology; Taiwan; Asia; Taiwan; ISEW, Taiwan; ISEW, Taiwan, Nanwan; Ecopath; Food web; Phase shift; Network analysis; Macroalgae; Overexploitation; Trophic relation; Coral reef; Marine environment; Fringing reef; Overfishing; Models; Bay
• ISSN: 0141-1136; 1879-0291; 1879-0291
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2009.04.009

Several coral reefs of Nanwan Bay, Taiwan have recently undergone shifts to macroalgal or sea anemone dominance. Thus, a mass-balance trophic model was constructed to analyze the structure and functioning of the food web. The fringing reef model was comprised of 18 compartments, with the highest trophic level of 3.45 for piscivorous fish. Comparative analyses with other reef models demonstrated that Nanwan Bay was similar to reefs with high fishery catches. While coral biomass was not lower, fish biomass was lower than those of reefs with high catches. Consequently, the sums of consumption and respiratory flows and total system throughput were also decreased. The Nanwan Bay model potentially suggests an overfished status in which the mean trophic level of the catch, matter cycling, and trophic transfer efficiency are extremely reduced.