Humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) abundance and size structure among coral reef rabitats in Maldives

2005·4.1 MB·English

by  Robert D Sluka

ATOLLRESEARCH BULLETIN
NO. 538
HUMPHEADWRASSE (CHEILINUS UNDULATUS)ABUNDANCEAND SIZE
STRUCTUREAMONG CORALREEFHABITATS IN MALDIVES
BY
ROBERT SLUKA
D.
ISSUEDBY
NATIONALMUSEUMOFNATURALHISTORY
SMITHSONIANINSTITUTION
WASHINGTON,D.C.,U.S.A.
NOVEMBER2005
Figure 1. Mapofstudysiteswithin LaamuAtoll. Linesurroundingshaded(lagoonandshallowcoral reef)
and black (island)areas indicatesthereefcrest. Codesreferencesites listed inTable I.
HUMPHEAD WRASSE (CHEILINUS UNDULATUS)ABUNDANCEAND SIZE
STRUCTUREAMONG CORALREEFHABITATS IN MALDIVES
BY
ROBERTD. SLUKA1
ABSTRACT
The abundance and size ofhumpheadwrasse (Cheilinus undulatiis) among 36
sites comprisingfive habitattypes at one atoll inthe Republic ofMaldiveswere assessed
throughunderwatervisual observation. Humpheadwrassewere observedmore often in
channelhabitats than all others. The average size ofsited individuals was not significantly
different amongthe threehabitats where size datawas available.
INTRODUCTION
Fishingto supplythe live-fish foodtrade hasbeen implicatedinthe demise of
coral-reeffisheries forgrouperandhumpheadwrasse (Cheilinus undulatiis) in many
areas ofthe Indo-Pacific (Erdmann and Pet-Soede, 1996; Johannes andRiepen, 1995;
Donaldson and Sadovy, 2001; SadovyandVincent, 2002). Humpheadwrasse, also
knownas the Napoleon orMaori wrasse, are one ofthe mosthighly soughtafterspecies.
Little is known aboutthe biology ofhumpheadwrasse. This is one ofthe largest ofall
reef-dwellingteleosts, only smallerthana few grouperspecies (Randall etal., 1978). The
largestreliablyrecorded specimenwas 229 cm long (Randall et al., 1990). This species
m
ranges from0.5 - 60 indepth andoccurs fromthe east coastofAfrica and Red Sea
acrossthe Indian Oceanto the central Pacific Ocean (Debelius, 1993; Gomon, 1984).
Juvenile humpheadwrasse havebeen observed in shallow sandy areas adjacent to coral-
reeflagoons and in lagoonal staghorn coral thickets (Acropora spp) (Debelius, 1993;
Randall, 1955; Randall et al., 1978). Adults tendtobe more common offshore anddeeper,
especially in outer-reefslopes and channels, but can alsobe found in lagoons
(Randall, 1955; Randall et al., 1978; Sluka, 2001). This species eats mollusks, fishes,
seaurchins, crustaceans, and otherinvertebrates (Randall et al., 1978; Randall et al.,
1990). Humpheadwrasse exhibitpaired spawning in small groups or largeraggregations
(Donaldson, 1995).
This studywas conductedto examine the large-scale distributionpatterns ofthe
humpheadwrasse in LaamuAtoll, Republic ofMaldives.
'CenterforAppliedScience,MilleniumRelief&DevelopmentServicesPHRANo. 12,PothujanamRd.,
Kumarapuram,Trivandrum695011 Kerala,India.Tel: [phone] [email protected].
Manuscriptreceived25April2003;revised9January2004.
192
METHODS
Habitat Description
The Republic ofMaldives is a chain ofcoral-reefatolls stretching from about
7°N to 2°S at 73°E. The southern atolls ofthe Maldives, such as Laamu, are distinctly
different from the northern ones including fewerchannels and, consequently, larger
unbroken coral-reefstructures (Anderson, 1992). There is a typical zonation to most reefs
progressing from inshore-to-offshore with a shallow sandy lagoon, reefflat, reefcrest,
and reefslope. The outside atoll-rim reefslope drops precipitously to about 30-45 m,
slopes gently forabout a halfkilometer, then drops again to abyssal depths (Anderson
et al., 1992). The innerreefslope drops steeply to about 20-30 m and then grades into a
sandy bottom which occupies the inner portion ofthe atoll. LaamuAtoll has the deepest
inner lagoon ofall Maldivian atolls reaching to 73 m. Aunique feature ofthese atolls is
the circularreefrings which rise from the atoll's innerfloorcalled faros. Many are similar
in zonation with a reefflat, crest, and slope.
Data Collection andAnalysis
Surveys were completed by noting humphead wrasse observed during the course
ofdiving forother studies from November 1996 to June 1997. These dives were mostly
focused on completing visual censuses ofotherfish species and lent themselves well
to noting the presence ofhumphead wrasse. The total dive time was noted as well as
the number and size ofany humphead wrasse observed. Two sites were surveyed by
snorkeling (J and K); all otherwere surveyed on scuba. Five habitat types were identified
(Fig. 1): 1) reefslopes on the outside ofthe atoll rim (sites: a, g, r, t, x, and z, Fig. 1 and
Table 1); 2) reefslopes on the inside ofthe atoll rim (sites: b, c, d, e, f, h, i,j, q, s, v, y,
and w); 3) channels that lead from the inside to the outside ofthe atoll rim (sites: u,A, J,
and K); 4) faros (sites: B-H); and 5) shallow (< 2m) reefcrest and lagoonal patch reefs
(mostly branching acropid patches). Due to only zero values in faro and shallow sites,
these two habitats were not used in the analysis.
The numberofwrasse observed perhour was plotted by habitat type and tested
for significant differences using a Kruskal-WallisANOVA. Anon-parametricANOVA
was selected due to the highly skewed distribution resulting from numerous zero values.
Size was estimated visually after training. Parametric analysis ofvariance was used to
test for significant differences in mean size among the three habitats.
RESULTS
Thirty-six sites were studied (Table yielding a total of51 fish observed during
1)
103 hours and 43 minutes ofsampling. Humphead wrasse were observed more often in
channels than in any other habitat (Fig. 2). The mean numberofhumphead wrasse per
hourofobservation was significantly higher in channels than inside atoll-rim reefslopes
(p<0.05). Fish occurrence at outside atoll-rim reefslope sites was not significantly
different than either those at the inside atoll-rim sites or the channel sites. More
193
replicationwouldbe necessaryto ascertaindifferencesbetweenthis habitat andthe other
two as there was highvariability inthe data.Average sizewas not significantlydifferent
amongthe threehabitattypes wherethis species was observed(Fig. 3, p>0.05). Sizes
ranged from 30-140 cmwith amean (± 1SE) of80.2 (4.8) (Fig. 4).
Table 1. Survey sites, including site codeswhichreference Fig.1. The time surveyed,
numberofhumpheadwrasse observed, andaverage size ofindividuals are given foreach
site. Thetwo sites markedwith an+were surveyedusing snorkel; all othersby scuba.
Site Site code Time surveyed No. Size
(h:min) observed (cm± 1SE)
Gaadhoo outside a 1:26 10 95 (10)
Gaadhoo inside b 0:50 2 65 (35)
Fonadhoo c 0:30
Kadhdhoo d 0:39
Matimatidhoo e 6:15
Gamu inside f 6:14
Gamu outside g 1:55
Bodufinalhu slope h 25:24
Bodufinalhu deep I 1:41
Bodufinalhu shallow 11:30
J
Bodufinalhu lagoon k 2:00
Bodufinalhuchannel 2:00
1
m
Gaskandufinalhu lagoon 1:00
Baresdhoo channel n 4:00
Bodufinalhureefcrest 3:00
Baresdhoo reefcrest P 2:30
Baresdhoo inside q 4:36 1 100 (-)
Baresdhoo outside r 2:40
Mundo inside s 1:28
Mundu outside t 0:50
Mundu channel u 0:56 9 78(10)
Maabaidhoo V 1:46 4 70(6)
+
Fushi channel J 1:00 3 93(7)
w
Vadinalhoo inside 0:59
Vadinalhoo outside X 1:44 3 65(9)
Vadinalhoo channel K 1:00+ 4 65(13)
Maava inside y 1:54
Maava outside z 1:40
Maava channel A 1:23 15 5 > 100
Gaadhoo faro B 0:38
Fonadhoo faro C 2:16
Mondu faro D 1:21
Baresdhoo faro 1 E 4:36
Baresdhoo faro 2 F 0:20
Vadinalhoo faro G 2:03
Maava faro H 1:39
o
194
u
% 8 -
<oD 6 -
c
CD 4 -
c — ——
-<Q 2 -
rf=>
n -1 , 1
Inside Outside Channel
Habitat
Figure2. Mean humphead wrasseabundance(number/hour± 1 SE)amongthreehabitattypes: reefslopes
insidetheatoll rim; reefslopesoutsidetheatoll rim; andchannelsconnectingthe insideandoutsideofthe
atoll rim.
120
100 -
E 80 -
60 -
aN?
co 40 -
20
Inside Outside Channel
Habitat
Figure3. Mean size (cm± 1 SE)ofhumpheadwrasseobservedamongthreehabitattypes: reefslopes
insidetheatoll rim,reefslopesoutsidetheatoll rim,andchannelsconnectingthe insideandoutsideofthe
atoll rim.
195
Figure4. Size-frequencydistributionofallhumpheadwrassewheresizedatawereavailable(n=31).
DISCUSSION
Humpheadwrassepreferentially occupied channel habitats inLaamuAtoll,
Maldives. This species was also observed inthree reef-slope sites inside the atoll rim
andtwo reef-slope sites outside the atoll rim. However, two ofthree inside sites andboth
outside sites were adjacent to channel habitats. Only one humpheadwrasse was observed
at a site locateda significantdistance from a channel. It is unknownwhythis species
prefers this type ofhabitat. Comparative dataare onlyavailable from one othercentral
Indian Ocean site (Sluka and Lazarus, inpress). The relative abundance ofthis species
atthe study sites in Maldives (0.49 fish/hr)was approximatelythree times higherthanat
sites on the west coast ofIndia(0.18 fish/hr). However, the Indian sites weremainlynon-
carbonate reefs withhigh structural complexitybut low coral cover(Sluka, Mary, and
Lazarus, unpublisheddata) andthus ofa significantly differenthabitattype.
Little is known about humphead wrassebiologywhichcanbeusedto infer
causative agents ofdistributionpatterns. This species eats awide range ofprey including
mollusks, fish, and seaurchins, andthe crown-of-thorns starfish,Acanthasterplanci
(Randall et al., 1978). The reef-slopehabitats ofLaamuAtoll have high coral cover
andtendto have high spatial complexity, includingvertical relief(R. Sluka and M.W.
Miller, unpublished data), while the channels tendto have lowervertical reliefand spatial
complexity (Sluka, pers. obs.). Itmaybe that food items are easiertofinddue to the
relative lack ofhidingplaces andmore exposednature ofthe channel coral reefs.
However, the humpheadwrasse observed inthe channels tendedtobe foundnearthe
outeredge ofthe channel adjacenttothepointatwhich the channel drops offandturns
into the reefslope. It is unknown ifthis species switches ends ofthe channel withthe
changing ofthe tide (i.e., in outgoingtides it is locatedprimarily atthe outerend ofthe
channel and in ingoing tides, the innerend). Ifthis were the case, itwould seem likely
thathumphead wrasse were makinguse ofthe currents forforaging activity.
196
Knowledge ofhabitat preferences ofhumphead wrasse is important forthe
management ofthis species. While a total ban on export is the ideal situation as faras
the resource is concerned, some level ofexploitation may be possible once the biology
and ecology ofthis species are better known. Where other management strategies need to
be used, protection ofspawning aggregations within a system ofmarine fishery reserves
appears to be the best strategy for long-term sustained exploitation oflong-lived, slow
growing coral-reefspecies (Roberts et al., 1995). Johannes (1980) suggested that
protecting spawning aggregations by limiting fishing, either spatially ortemporally, could
be one ofthe most effective management strategies. Humphead wrasse have been
observed to aggregate in large numbers to spawn (Johannes and Riepen. 1995). By
protecting these spawning events, the larger individuals which have higher fecundity than
smallerfishes are allowed to reproduce and potentially supply recruits to surrounding
areas.
It is clearthat there is intense pressure on the humphead wrasse resources ofthe
Indo-Pacific. The Maldivian Government banned the export ofhumphead wrasse in 1995
owing to concerns ofthe recreational diving industry. However, effective enforcement
ofthese regulations is lacking as import statistics show that Maldives is still exporting
significant quantities ofhumphead wrasse to Hong Kong (Lau and Parry-Jones, 1999).
Until we learn more concerning habitat requirements and population biology ofthis
species, it is unknown what impact this exploitation has on these fishes in this region.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was conducted while funded by grants from the Research Fellowship
Program ofthe Wildlife Conservation Society, The National Geographic Society's
Committee for Research and Exploration. John G. SheddAquarium'sAquatic Science
Partnership (funded by the Dr. Scholl Foundation), and the LernerGray Fund for Marine
Research oftheAmerican Museum ofNatural History. I wish to thank Mr. Yoosuf
Nisharand Mr. Abudullah Hakeem who assisted in all aspects ofthe field work. Mr.
Ahmed Shakeel and Ms. Aishath Shaan Shakir ofthe Oceanographic Society ofMaldives
provided support throughout the project.
REFERENCES
Anderson, R.C.
1992. North-south variation in the distribution offishes in the Maldives. Rasain
12:210-226.
Anderson. R.C, Z. Waheed, A. Arif, and M. Rasheed
1992. Reeffish resources survey in the Maldives, Phase II. BOBP/WP/80:51pp.
Debelius, H.
1993. Indian ocean tropical fish guide. Aquaprint, Neu Isenberg, Germany. 321pp.
197
Donaldson, T.J.
1995. Courtship and spawning ofnine species ofwrasses (Labridae) from the western
Pacific. Japan.J. Ichthyol. 42:311-319.
Donaldson, T.J., andY. Sadovy
2001. Threatenedfishes ofthe world: Cheilinus undulatus Ruppell, 1835 (Labridae).
Env. Biol. Fishes 62:428.
Gomon, M.
1984. Labridae. In Fischer, W. andG. Bianchi (eds.). FAOspecies identification
sheetsforfisherypurposes. WesternIndian Ocean (fishingarea 51). FAO,
Rome.
Erdmann, M.V., andL. Pet-Soede
1996. Howfresh istoo fresh? The livereeffish foodtrade in easternIndonesia.
NAGA
19:4-8.
Johannes, R.E.
1980. Usingknowledge ofthe reproductive behaviorofreefand lagoonfishes to
improvefishing yields. In Bardach, J.E., J.J. Magnuson, R.C. May, andJ.M.
Reinhart (eds.). Fishbehavioranditsuse inthe capture and culture offishes,
p. 247-270. ICLARMConf.Proc. 5, International CenterforLivingAquatic
Resources Management, Manila, Philippines. 512pp.
Johannes, R.E., andM. Riepen
1995. Environmental, Economic, andSocialImplications oftheLiveReefFish Trade
inAsiaandthe WesternPacific. TheNature Conservancyandthe South Pacific
ForumFisheriesAgency.
Lau, P.P.F., andR. Parry-Jones
1999. TheHongKongtrade in live reeffishforfood. TRAFFIC, HongKong. 65pp.
Randall, J.E.
1955. Fishes ofthe GilbertIslands. AtollRes. Bull. 47:1-243.
Randall, J.E., G.R.Allen, andR.C. Steene
1990. Fishes ofthe GreatBarrierReefandCoralSea. University ofHawaii Press,
Honolulu. 506pp.
Randall, J.E., S.M. Head, andA.P.L. Sanders
1978. Foodhabits ofthe gianthumpheadwrasse Cheilinus undulatus (Labridae). Env.
Biol. Fishes 3:335-338.
Roberts, CM., W.J. Ballantine, CD. Buxton, P.K. Dayton, L.B. Crowder, W. Milon,
M.K. Orbach, D. Pauly, andJ. Trexler
1995. Reviewofthe use ofmarinefisheryreserves in the USSEAtlantic. NOAATech.
Mem. NMFS-SEFSC-376.
Sluka, R.D.
2001. GrouperandNapoleonwrasse ecology inLaamuAtoll, Republic ofMaldives:
Part 1. Habitat, behavior, andmovementpatterns.AtollRes. Bull. 491:1-26.
Sluka, R.D., and S. Lazarus
InPress. Humpheadwrasse (Cheilinus undulatus Ruppell 1835) rare onthewest
coastofIndia.J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. India.
198
Sadovy, Y.J., andA.C.J. Vincent
2002. Ecological issues and the trades in live reeffishes. In P.F. Sale (ed.). Coralreef
fishes: Dynamics anddiversity in acomplexecosystem, pp. 391-420. Academic
Press, NewYork. 549pp.