| The response-and-effect framework is a trait-based approach that seeks to break down the mechanistic links between ecosystem disturbances, species' traits, and ecosystem processes. We apply this framework to a review of the literature on coral reef fish traits, in order to illustrate the research landscape and structure a path forward for the field. Traits were categorized into five broad groupings: behavioral, life history, morphological, diet, and physiological. Overall, there are fewer studies linking effect traits to ecosystem processes (number of papers on herbivory, n = 14; predation, n = 12; bioerosion, n = 2; nutrient cycling, n = 0) than there are linking response traits to disturbances (climate change, n = 26; fishing, n = 20; pollution, n = 4).... |
