Predator-mediated trophic connectivity between reef and oceanic habitats in Palau

Effective fisheries management and marine spatial planning depend on understanding how mobile predators link reef and oceanic ecosystems through cross-habitat movements and foraging. Predator resource use shapes movement and space-use strategies, providing insight into life history and behavioral variation, the identification of critical habitats, and spatial patterns of vulnerability to fishing and other human activities. Yet cross-habitat trophic connectivity remains poorly quantified in diverse coral reef and oceanic systems. Here, we used stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) analysis, complemented by stomach content analysis, to examine cross-habitat resource use of predatory fishes across reef and near-reef oceanic ecosystems in Palau, in the Western Pacific, evaluating patterns across species, trophic guilds, and habitat associations. Cluster analyses, isotopic niche metrics, and Bayesian stable isotope mixing models revealed asymmetric but bidirectional connectivity, with resource utiliza..., , # Data from: Predator-mediated trophic connectivity between reef and oceanic habitats in Palau Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.2280gb66z](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2280gb66z) ## Description of the data and file structure **Authors** Natalie S. Arnoldi^1*^, Aaron Carlisle^2^, Robert B. Dunbar^3^, Alan M. Friedlander^4,5^, Yimnang Golbuu^6,7^, Steven Lindfield^8^, Fiorenza Micheli^1,9^ **Affiliations** ^1^ Departments of Oceans and Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA ^2^ School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE 19958, USA ^3^ Department of Oceans, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA ^4^ Pristine Seas, National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, 20036, USA ^5^ Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaiʻi, Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi, 96744, USA ^6^ Palau International Coral Reef Center, Koror, Palau, 96940, PW ^7^ The Nature Conservancy, Koror, Palau, 96940, PW ^8^ Coral Reef Research Fo..., ,