Species parameters for a generic Caribbean reef (10 functional groups)

A species parameter data frame for a 10-group size-spectrum model of a Caribbean coral reef. Functional groups include multiple predator guilds (engulf, grab, eel-like, cryptic, invertebrate, planktivorous), parrotfish, farming damselfish, other herbivores, and invertebrates. Parameters are derived from field measurements at Karpata Reef, Bonaire (FORCE dataset, Dryden 2017) and published life-history data (FishBase).

Usage

caribbean_10_species

Format

A data frame with one row per functional group and columns for life-history parameters (w_max, w_mat, age_mat, h, beta, sigma, etc.), refuge use (refuge_user, blocked_pred, satiation), and resource interactions (interaction_algae, interaction_detritus).

Source

PhD Thesis, FORCE dataset

Details

biomass_observed is NA for eels, pred_crypt, farm_damsel, and inverts – the thesis's own visual-survey methodology excluded fish under 10cm and struggled to capture small-bodied/cryptic groups, so no FORCE observation exists for these four (Beese 2025, Chapter 4). Several parameters were revised in 2026 during recalibration against a corrected senescence-mortality formula (see caribbean_10_model's documentation and inst/scripts/Caribbean_10_model-calibration.R's design note for the full reasoning and citations): satiation for parrotfish, farm_damsel, and herbs (FALSE -> TRUE, activating literature/ thesis-derived intake caps that were previously gated off); age_mat for parrotfish (2 -> 1.6, Rivera Hernandez & Shervette 2025) and pred_grab (2 -> 5.4, derived from the thesis's own stored growth curve combined with an independently-reported maturity length for Lutjanus apodus, FishBase); and biomass_observed for eels and farm_damsel (NA -> soft literature-derived targets of 10 and 0.4 g/m^2 respectively, Gilbert et al. 2005; Vermeij et al. 2015 – these are not FORCE observations and are not treated as exact).

References

FORCE dataset. From: Dryden, C. (2017). Habitat structural complexity of Caribbean coral reefs and its relationships with fish community structure. PhD Thesis, Newcastle University.

Beese, C. (2025). PhD Thesis. Victoria University of Wellington. https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.26421523

Rivera Hernandez, J.M. & Shervette, V.R. (2025). Addressing life history information gaps for Caribbean parrotfishes: queen parrotfish Scarus vetula and stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viride. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 108, 179-198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-024-01651-x

Gilbert, M., Rasmussen, J.B. & Kramer, D.L. (2005). Estimating the density and biomass of moray eels (Muraenidae) using a modified visual census method for hole-dwelling reef fauna. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 73, 415-426. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-005-2228-2

Vermeij, M.J.A., DeBey, H., Grimsditch, G., Brown, J., Obura, D., DeLeon, R. & Sandin, S.A. (2015). Negative effects of gardening damselfish Stegastes planifrons on coral health depend on predator abundance. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 528, 289-296. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11243