Jamie McDevitt-Irwin MSc.

Shark and fishes around the world are currently declining on coral reefs, generally due to overharvesting. Declines in these consumers can lead to profound food web restructuring and cascading ecological consequences for the rest of the ecosystem. By studying coral reefs across multiple trophic levels and how species interactions have consequences for the rest of the ecosystem, we can further our understanding of the role of consumers, which are disappearing worldwide, on coral reefs.

The Indian Ocean Region is an ideal study system, with the highest fish and shark biomass in the Indian Ocean due to the Marine Protected Area (MPA).

To answer these questions, I am currently evaluating how large bodied predators like sharks influence coral reef fishes in their morphology, diet and composition. Additionally, I determine if these effects cascade down the food web by evaluating how herbivorous (i.e. consume algae) and corallivorous fishes (i.e. consume corals) control developing coral reef benthic communities. Using this region as my study system, I am able to combine both observational and experimental fieldworks to disentangle the importance of consumers in coral reef food webs.