Abstract
Rabbitfishes (Siganidae) are common members of coastal and estuarine fish assemblages throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, where they contribute to key ecological processes and ecosystem goods and services. In this review, we summarise current knowledge of the phylogeny, biogeography, life history, habitat associations, feeding ecology, fisheries and aquaculture production of rabbitfishes (Siganidae). Rabbitfishes, which consist of 29-32 species within the single genus Siganus, display remarkable diversity of biological traits that make them unique from other families of herbivorous fishes. Their tolerances to environmental conditions and plastic life history characteristics have allowed them to colonise diverse ecosystems, expand their ranges to higher latitudes, emerge among the most important consumers of macroalgae and seagrass, sustain high intensity fisheries and be very promising for the aquaculture industry. While research on rabbitfishes has started to highlight their importance, further biological and ecological research is needed on more species across different spatial and temporal scales to better understand their relevance for ecosystem functions, their responses to disturbances and the sustainable harvesting of wild populations and aquaculture production.