Microhabitat requirements for settlement of juvenile sparid fishes on Mediterranean rocky shores

Abstract

Microhabitat attributes were characterized for recently settled juvenile fishes in six species of Sparidae (Diplodus annularis, D. puntazzo, D. sargus, D. vulgaris, Oblada melanura, and Sarpa salpa) on the rocky shore near Marseille, French Mediterranean coast . Depth, slope, type of substratum, biotic cover and hydrodynamic conditions were recorded wherever sparid recruits occurred . Juvenile Diplodus annularis settled in Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds at 5-8 m deep . The five other sparid species recruited in very shallow water (<2 m) . D . puntazzo, D. sargus and D. vulgaris were observed in sites presenting a gentle slope with coarse sand, gravel, pebbles or boulders . Sarpa salpa was less dependent on slope for recruitment, but was always associated with macroalgae .

Feeding habits and diet overlap of juveniles of 2 sparids, Diplodus puntazzo(Walbaum, 1792) and Diplodus vulgaris (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817), from theNorth Aegean Sea of Turkey

“…The diet of D. vulgaris was characterized by algae and invertebrate species (Harmelin-Vivien et al, 1995;Costa and Cataudella, 2007). This species was described as omnivorous and opportunist (Sala and Ballesteros, 1997;Macpherson, 1998;Horta et al, 2004;Pallaoro et al, 2006;Costa and Cataudella, 2007).…”

Age and size compositions, habitats, growth and reproductive characteristics of a terapontid (Pelates octolineatus) in coastal waters

“…Numerous fish species spawn in coastal waters and use, as a nursery area, the sheltered habitats found in inshore waters such as seagrass, surf zones, rocky shores, mangroves and unvegetated soft substrata (Bennett 1989;Harmelin-Vivien et al 1995;Valesini et al 2004), with some of these species also employing those in estuaries for this purpose (Blaber and Blaber 1980;Vasconcelos et al 2008;Woodland et al 2012;Potter et al 2013). Following the completion of their juvenile phase, many of these marine species move into deeper coastal waters, to different habitats, or to both, where they mature and spawn (e.g.…”

Timing and habitat preferences for settlement of juvenile fishes in the Marine Protected Area of Torre Guaceto (south-eastern Italy, Adriatic Sea)

“…Settlement, depending on the fish species considered, may or may not occur in the same habitat(s) where recruitment occurs. Many fishes, in fact, show dramatic ontogenetic changes in the habitat use, with different habitat types or depth ranges being occupied by specimens of different sizes/ages (Harmelin-Vivien et al 1995;Newman & Dunk 2002).…”

“…period of the year) juveniles were found. Recent studies reported on quantitative data about the presence and abundance of juveniles of many Mediterranean fishes (Garcia-Rubies & Macpherson 1995;Harmelin-Vivien et al 1995;Biagi et al 1998;Macpherson 1998;Vigliola et al 1998) emphasising that: (1) many species are typically associated with specific habitats and depth ranges in relation to individual size (and age) (Harmelin-Vivien et al 1995); (2) several fishes show typical and sometimes dramatic peaks in settlement at specific periods of the year (Vigliola et al 1998); (3) some congeneric species avoid competition by using different habitat types as nurseries or by settling in the same habitat but in different periods of the year (e.g. sea breams of the genus Diplodus; Macpherson 1998;Vigliola et al 1998); and (4) some species show remarkable ontogenetic shifts in the use of different habitats (e.g.…”