Figure 2
Size-dependent responses of (A,B) Dascyllas aruanus, (C,D) Dascyllus reticulatus, and (E,F) Pomacentrus moluccensis to mortality of host coral colonies following the introduction of crown-of-thorns starfish to experimental plots. Persistence (A,C,E) on dead coral hosts (consumed by crown-of-thorns starfish) is measured based on the mean (± SE) time in days that individual fishes remained on coral hosts devoid of any live tissue, which was analyzed using ANOVA (Table 1). The fate of fishes that ultimately vacated dead coral hosts (B,D,F) is expressed as the ratio of fishes that relocated and recolonized alternative corals hosts within the 100 m2 of experimental plots (expressed as a percentage of the total number of fishes displaced from coral colonies that died). χ2 statistics (log-linear statistic) compared frequencies of fish that moved (grey bars) versus disappeared (white bars) within each size class for each damselfish species separately.
