Abstract

Studies on fish functional diversity have rarely considered the ecological roles of reef fishes during different life stages, which are influenced by ontogenic shifts in diet, habitat use, and distribution. Here, we investigate functional diversity as an ecological response metric to understand spatiotemporal patterns and processes that influence the functional organization of fish assemblages on U.S Caribbean coral reefs. Functional diversity quantifies the relative magnitude of similarities and differences among species based on the value and range of their functional, morphological and behavioral traits. This metric allows us to identify the niche space for each species by considering both trait redundancy and relative species abundance. Functional diversity does not clump species within a guild, as species richness of trophic groups do, but instead captures the variability in species traits. We consider the spatial ontogenic shifts of both juvenile and adult fishes and their traits related to use of habitat-specific food resources. We evaluate changes in fish functional diversity inside the MPA Buck Island Reef National Monument in the U.S. Virgin Islands. We provide insights about the variability in functional diversity analysis by considering fish life stages and quality of functional trait infor-mation. Our approach is transferable and can be applied to similar assessments elsewhere in the Caribbean.

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