Can cleaning services persist without corals?
Scleractinian corals are the main architect of coral reefs and have
experienced massive die-offs, leading to fundamental changes in reef
substrates (Box and Mumby 2007, Cramer et al. 2020, Hughes 1994, Hughes
et al. 2007, Jackson et al. 2014). These corals are known, and likely
underestimated, nocturnal consumers of gnathiids (Artim and Sikkel 2013,
Paula et al. 2021). Not only has high coral cover been associated with
lower gnathiid abundance (Artim et al. 2020, Paula et al. 2021, Santos
and Sikkel 2017), but dead coral “rubble” is the preferred refuge for
gnathiids (Artim and Sikkel 2013). Moreover, corals serve as critical
habitat for goby cleaning stations (Whiteman and Côté 2002) as well as a
visual beacon for client fishes locating cleaning stations (Losey 1974).
Thus, live coral facilitates the cleaner-client mutualism of the primary
diurnal cleaner fish on Caribbean coral reefs and likely acts as the
primary nocturnal consumer of gnathiids. Elacatinus gobies can
reside in alternative sponge-based microhabitats but tend to clean
significantly less compared to individuals on coral (Whiteman and Côté
2002). T. bifasciatum are not reliant on any specific reef
characteristics (Dunkley et al. 2018), making it unlikely for them to be
directly impacted by coral loss (Artim et al. 2020). Thus, the loss of
live coral will likely increase the parasite burden of those fish
functional groups that rely on goby cleaning services, potentially
impacting species populations and disrupting community dynamics.