Coral reefs are under increasing stress, resulting in the increased occurrence and intensity of bleaching events. With subsequent flow-on effects on fishes that utilize reef habitats, understanding how organisms respond to disturbance contributes crucial information to ecosystems. Corallivorous fishes that depend on live corals for nutrition are likely to be adversely affected by declining coral health. Previous studies have identified linear relationships between abundance of obligate corallivores and coral health. Norfolk Island has experienced recent bleaching events and coral mortality at its’ coral reef though responses of corals are atypical to those typically encountered. The response of coral dependent fish taxa are thus likely unique to this system.
The present research used 25 min roving diver surveys across four sampling events (December 2023 - December 2024, n=40 surveys) at Norfolk Island to quantify diversity and abundance of Chaetodon spp., aiming to identify shifts in before, during, and after a bleaching event. It was found that neither facultative nor obligate corallivores experienced significant declines between time points, nor significant shifts in Chaetodon assemblages. This research present insight into the response of corallivores to coral bleaching at a high latitude/subtropical reef, indicating resilience of these specialized animals to climate change induced disturbances.