Every animal dies. In nature, mortality usually occurs due to predation by other animals. One of the fundamental consequences of mortality is the transfer of energy and nutrients from one organism (prey) to another (predator). On coral reefs, these key interactions and processes, that are essential for ecosystem functioning, are primarily mediated by fishes; up to 53% of fishes on coral reefs can be regarded as piscivorous. To date, piscivory on coral reefs has been...

1. Fear of predators (‘fear effects’) are an important determinant of foraging decisions by consumers across a range of ecosystems. Group size is one of the main behavioural mechanisms for mitigating fear effects but also provides foraging benefits to group members. Within coral reef ecosystems, fear effects have been shown to influence the feeding rates of herbivorous fishes (i.e. browsers), a key functional group that prevent macroalgal overgrowth. Yet, how fear effects and group size...

Background The interplay of animal dispersal and environmental heterogeneity is fundamental for the distribution of biodiversity on earth. In the ocean, the interaction of physical barriers and dispersal has primarily been examined for organisms with planktonic larvae. Animals that lack a planktonic life stage and depend on active dispersal are however likely to produce distinctive patterns. Methods We used available literature on population genetics and phylogeography of elasmobranchs (sharks, rays and skates), to examine how...