The Ecology of Cleaning Stations Used by Manta Alfredi in Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
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The ecology of cleaning stations used by Manta alfredi in Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia Hannah Ashe School of Veterinary and Life Sciences This thesis is presented as part of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Marine Sciene with Honours at Murdoch University. 2016 Declaration I declare this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work which has not been previously submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution. Hannah Ashe Acknowledgements There are many people I would like to acknowledge for their support and assistance throughout this year. Most importantly, thank you my supervisor Dr. Mike van Keulen for giving me the opportunity to take on such a wonderful project, and patience through the long lists of questions I always have. Frazer McGregor for his extensive manta ray knowledge and the time he dedicated to the fieldwork; without the two of you, this project would not have been possible. Thank you to the amazing crew of Ningaloo Marine Interactions (Frazer, Peta, Karen, Anna, Tom, and Lea), for welcoming me into your family as well as support and encouragement while out on the water. A special thanks to Karen for being my assistant when I needed extra help and enthusiasm to be a part of this project. I would like to thank Alex Thornton for devoting your time to help watch the endless supply of videos. My thanks also go out to Nathan Beerkens for his eagerness and endless determination to identify some of the more pesky fish species, and James Tweedley for his statistical expertise, for without it I would be lost. Special thanks to Angus Lawrie for always having time to help me, and keeping me sane through the final weeks of this project. Finally to my family and friends who kept me calm when I was stressed and the infinite supply of encouragement for which I am the most grateful for. iii Abstract Cleaning stations, where fish are cleaned of their parasites, are one of the many microhabitats found within reef systems. This study was a preliminary evaluation of the ecology of three cleaning stations in Bateman Bay, Western Australia. Bateman Bay is located just north of Coral Bay and home to a diverse range of species, notably the resident Reef Manta Ray (Manta alfredi). To do this, all fish species within the selected cleaning stations were identified, quantified and their behaviours recorded through video analysis. Over five months, a total of 144 different species were identified from 37 families, totalling over 3,800 individuals. Species richness and diversity significantly differed among sites (p < 0.05). Behaviours of species also showed trends of each cleaning station being used for different purposes. Feeding was most commonly seen at the Point Maud South (PMS) station, while the Point Maud North (PMN) station experienced the most cleaning events. The third site, the Oyster Bridge (OB) station experienced many individuals roaming around the area. However, 46 species were seen at all three locations, detecting similarities in species composition to some degree at each cleaning station; e.g. M. alfredi was cleaned at each location. From this information, motives for site preference cannot be conclusively determined; however results show environmental factors such as food availability may influence species abundance, composition and behaviours at cleaning stations. iv Table of Contents Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. iii Abstract .................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... vi 1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Reef ecology ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Cleaning stations .................................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 Origin of a cleaner ........................................................................................... 3 1.2.2 Cleaner diversity ............................................................................................. 3 1.2.3 Cleaning process ............................................................................................. 4 1.2.4 Cleaner copycats ............................................................................................. 6 1.2.5 Diet ................................................................................................................... 7 1.2.6 A symbiotic relationship? ............................................................................... 7 1.2.7 Costs and benefits ........................................................................................... 9 1.3 Manta rays ............................................................................................................ 10 1.3.1 Species description ....................................................................................... 11 1.3.2 Identification ................................................................................................. 13 1.3.3 Feeding ........................................................................................................... 14 1.3.4 Movements .................................................................................................... 15 1.3.5 Cleaning ......................................................................................................... 15 1.3.6 Vulnerability .................................................................................................. 17 1.3.7 Ecotourism and towards sustainability ...................................................... 18 1.4 Ningaloo Marine Park .......................................................................................... 20 1.4.1 Tourism .......................................................................................................... 21 1.4.2 Coral Bay ........................................................................................................ 21 1.5 Aims and objectives ............................................................................................. 22 2.0 Materials and Methods ............................................................................................... 24 2.1 Study sites ............................................................................................................ 24 2.2 Data collection...................................................................................................... 27 2.3 Station uses .......................................................................................................... 28 2.4 Analyses ................................................................................................................ 28 vi 2.4.1 Video analyses ............................................................................................... 28 2.4.2 Data analyses ................................................................................................. 29 3.0 Results .............................................................................................................................. 30 3.1 Point Maud South................................................................................................. 46 3.2 Point Maud North ................................................................................................ 46 3.3 Oyster Bridge ....................................................................................................... 46 3.4 Cleaning ................................................................................................................ 47 3.5 Manta sightings .................................................................................................... 47 4.0 Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 48 4.1 Station diversity ................................................................................................... 48 4.2 Station uses .......................................................................................................... 48 4.2.1 Point Maud South .......................................................................................... 49 4.2.2 Point Maud North .......................................................................................... 50 4.2.3 Oyster Bridge ................................................................................................. 51 4.3 Common species .................................................................................................. 52 4.4 Large clients ......................................................................................................... 53 4.5 Targeted species .................................................................................................. 54 4.6 Limitations and future research considerations ............................................... 55 4.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 56 5.0 References .....................................................................................................................