Spawning aggregations act as a bottleneck influencing climate change impacts on a critically endangered reef fish

AbstractAimMost projections of how climate change will affect species distributions and phenology are based on a species’ most conspicuous life stage. However, not all life stages are equally sensitive to temperature. Among fishes, spawning adults often have narrower thermal tolerances than other life stages and may constrain population responses to climate change. We tested this hypothesis using data on Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus), an endangered coral reef fish.LocationGreater Caribbean.MethodsSpecies distribution models of spawning and nonspawning adults were compared to determine which environmental variables exerted the greatest influence on grouper distribution. We calculated the thermal niche and ecological niche breadth of both life stages. An earth system model was applied to project how species distribution and phenology shift under two climate change scenarios.ResultsSea surface temperature and seasonal temperature gradients affected the distribution of both spawning and nonspawning adults, but these life stages differed in their preferred temperatures and reaction to oceanic currents. While the two life stages exhibited similar ecological niche breadth, the thermal niche of spawners was narrower. By 2081–2100, potential spawning habitat was projected to decline under a business‐as‐usual scenario by 82% relative to 1981–2000, whereas suitable habitat for nonspawners decreased by 46%. Poleward shifts in latitude occurred 3.8–4.2 times faster for spawners than nonspawners. These changes were attributed to rising temperatures, whereas hydrographical changes did not have a substantial impact. Spawning phenology changed little, with a slight contraction in spawning season but a large reduction in spawning probability across all months.Main ConclusionsA narrow thermal tolerance range among spawning fishes indicates that this life stage may be a bottleneck constraining responses to climate change. Future research should consider the reaction of each life stage to changing conditions. Conservation of E. striatus should take shifting distribution and phenology into account, as climate effects may exacerbate population declines due to fishing and reduce the efficacy of conservation measures.