As the climate fluctuated over the past 3 million years, stable coral reefs provided a safe haven for tropical fish species, leading to the vast diversity of reef fishes seen today.
David Mouillot at Montpellier University in France and his colleagues used sediment cores to map coral reef habitats over the past 3 million years and compared this analysis with the current distribution of more than 6,000 reef fish species. The team found that the historical proximity of the fish habitats to stable coral reefs during cold periods had a greater influence on current patterns of reef fish diversity than present-day environmental factors such as sea-surface temperature. The diversity of damselfishes (Pomacentridae, pictured) in particular was strongly linked to their distance from coral reef refuges.
As the climate warms, conservation biologists should focus on protecting coral reefs that connect historical refuges.
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Ancient coral reefs protected fish. Nature 510, 10–11 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/510010e
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/510010e
