@article{fdi:010048333,
  title = {{L}ong-term spatiotemporal variations in coral-reef fish community structure and fishing at a {S}outh {P}acific atoll},
  author = {{D}e {L}oma, {T}.{L}. and {C}habanet, {P}ascale and {F}erraris, {J}ocelyne and {G}alzin, {R}. and {H}armelin {V}ivien, {M}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{I}n many atolls of the {S}outh {P}acific, a shift has occurred in the past couple of decades from traditional to more intensive fishing practices. {I}ncreasing fishing pressure on coral reefs raises the need for long-term studies to understand how fish communities react to fishing practice changes. {T}he objective of this study was to analyse the variations of reef fish communities (in terms of species richness, diversity, density and structure) during a long time lapse at {T}ikehau atoll ({T}uamotu archipelago, {F}rench {P}olynesia). {T}he same eight lagoon pinnacles were sampled in 1987 and 2003 at 6 and 12 m depth. {Q}uantitative data were collected by visual census techniques ({UVC}) on 50 m x 5 m belt transects. {A}nalyses were conducted using a multiple spatial scale (depth, pinnacle and whole lagoon) approach with a particular attention on commercial species such as {S}caridae (parrotfish), {A}canthuridae (surgeonfish), {L}utjanidae (snapper), {L}ethrinidae (emperor), {S}erranidae (grouper). {D}espite an increased sampling effort between 1987 and 2003, the mean species richness per transect decreased significantly from 26.2 +/- 6.2 to 21.6 +/- 9.6. {T}he mean diversity varied similarly. {A} stronger decrease happened at pinnacles close to the village, where fish density also decreased. {C}onversely, fish density, species richness and diversity increased at pinnacles less visited by inhabitants. {T}he community structure shifted from commercial species to small site-attached species e. g. {P}omacentridae (damselfish), {P}tereleotridae (dartfish) as fishing reduced the abundance (and biomass) of targeted stocks. {W}e argue that these spatiotemporal variations resulted from a drastic change in fishing practices over the 16 years period, that shifted a sustainable fishery using traditional fish traps to an unbalanced, species-threatening, selective fishery. {T}his study underlines the need for management and for the implementation of marine protected areas (including no-take zones) in order to protect the coral reef ecosystem and favor sustainable fisheries at {T}ikehau atoll.},
  keywords = {{C}oral reef fish communities ; {D}iversity decrease ; {S}pecies richness ; {D}ensity ; {F}ishing ; {S}outh {P}acific},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{A}quatic {L}iving {R}esources},
  volume = {22},
  numero = {3},
  pages = {281--290},
  ISSN = {0990-7440},
  year = {2009},
  DOI = {10.1051/alr/2009037},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010048333},
}