Habitat loss caused by anthropogenic climate change poses a significant
threat to global biodiversity, and behavioural change is often the first
line of defence for affected organisms. However, the potential for
altered behaviour to moderate the impact of resource loss remains
untested. Using a six-year dataset from three reefs in Japan, we
investigated the behavioural responses of 23 butterflyfish species to
coral habitat loss and recovery. Aggressive behaviours decreased when
resources were depleted, consistent with predictions from the economic
defendability model. Once coral cover recovered, aggression returned to
pre-disturbance levels, demonstrating behavioural flexibility
potentially capable of preventing energetic deficits in the short-term.
These results underscore the importance of behavioural plasticity in
species survival during environmental disturbances and highlight
potential ramifications for ecological dynamics at broader scales, such
as species coexistence. Our results emphasise the need to understand and
conserve behavioural adaptive capacities in the face of ongoing global
change.