The influence of habitat structure on nearshore fish assemblages in a southern Australian embayment: Comparison of shallow seagrass, reef-algal and unvegetated sand habitats, with emphasis on their importance to recruitment

Jenkins, Gregory P.; Wheatley, Melissa J

doi:10.1016/s0022-0981(97)00121-4

Cited by 165 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The importance of submerged aquatic vegetation for young fishes in the Swartkops Estuary supports previous findings on habitat use at the species level within eelgrass beds (Orth et al 1984, Sheppard et al 2011 in studies comparing seagrasses and adjacent unvegetated areas (Beckley 1983, Connolly 1994, Jenkins and Wheatley 1998 as well as in studies comparing multiple habitat types in nursery areas (Sogard and Able 1991, Guidetti 2000, França et al 2009). However, in the present study, shallow-water creeks yielded the highest catches, supporting findings in a Northern Hemisphere study (Sogard and Able 1991) and contrary to findings in the Kariega Estuary situated 130 km to the east of the study system (Paterson and Whitfield 2000), where vegetated areas showed higher fish abundance and more selective species occurrence among habitats.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Habitat partitioning by juvenile fishes in a temperate estuarine nursery, South Africa

Edworthy¹,

Strydom²

2016

Sci. Mar.

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Summary:Multiple habitats were investigated in a known fish nursery area to further understand habitat partitioning among juveniles in the lower reaches of the warm temperate, permanently open Swartkops Estuary, South Africa. Fishes were collected using a 30-m seine net with a mesh size of 10 mm in sand, mud, creek and vegetated habitat types. Each habitat type was sampled in two locations twice per season from February 2013 to January 2014. Shallow-water creeks and vegetated habitats with coverage of Zostera capensis and Spartina maritima were found to be important use areas for numerous solely estuarine and marine estuarine-dependent species. This was evidenced by the high species diversity, abundance and size range per species occurring in these habitats. Seasonal trends were similar to those in previous studies worldwide, where higher abundances of juveniles of marine estuarine-dependent species coincided with summer recruitment into estuarine nurseries. However, recruitment appears to begin as early as late winter in some species, a phenomenon probably linked to a warming climate. Both resident species and those utilizing the area as a nursery area show a large degree of plasticity in habitat use in the lower reaches of the estuary, which became apparent when multiple habitats were compared. The drivers of these patterns involve a complex interaction of species, habitat type, behaviour, feeding, predator avoidance and physicochemical factors occurring in the estuary.Keywords: Ichthyofauna; nursery grounds; community composition; estuary association; recruitment. Segregación de hábitat en juveniles de peces en una región de cría de un estuario templado, SudáfricaResumen: Con objeto de entender mejor la segregación de hábitats en juveniles de peces se investigaron múltiples hábitats en una zona de cría en la parte baja del estuario del Swartkops (Sudáfrica) (de tipo templado-cálido y abierto permanentemente). Los peces fueron recolectados con una red de cerco de 30 m, con malla de 10 mm de abertura, sobre fondos de arena, barro, arroyos yhábitats con vegetación. Cada tipo de hábitat se muestreó en dos lugares, dos veces por estación, de febrero 2013 a enero 2014. Se observó que los arroyos de aguas poco profundas y los hábitats con cobertura de Zostera capensis y Spartina maritima eran áreas importantes para numerosas especies exclusivamente estuáricas y para especies marinas dependientes de los estuarios. Esto se evidenció por la gran diversidad de especies, abundancia y rango de tallas de las especies que aparecieron. Las tendencias estacionales fueron similares a los de estudios anteriores en todo el mundo, donde las más altas abundancias de juveniles de las especies marinas que dependen de los estuarios coincidieron con el reclutamiento de verano dentro del estuario. Sin embargo, en algunas especies el reclutamiento parece comenzar más pronto, a finales del invierno, un fenómeno probablemente ligado al calentamiento climático. Tanto las especies residentes en el estuario como las que lo utilizan como área...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Habitat partitioning by juvenile fishes in a temperate estuarine nursery, South Africa

Edworthy¹,

Strydom²

2016

Sci. Mar.

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“…High densities of juvenile reef fish in mangroves and seagrass beds alone do not prove their importance as nurseries, because (1) these habitats could merely function as sinks of juveniles if adults or subadults do not migrate to adjacent coral reefs (Beck et al 2001), and (2) other shallow-water habitats may harbour similar or higher densities of juveniles. Various studies have shown that other shallow habitats can also be used as juvenile habitats by reef fish that are normally known to occur in high densities in seagrass beds or mangroves (Jenkins & Wheatley 1998, Nagelkerken et al 2000a, Rossier & Kulbicki 2000, Dorenbosch et al 2004.Studying the importance of mangroves and seagrass beds for juvenile fish requires that all available major shallow-water habitats are investigated simultaneously, while densities of fish in the adult habitat (i.e. adjacent coral reef) should also be determined, using a uniform, standardised sampling methodology.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Indo-Pacific seagrass beds and mangroves contribute to fish density and diversity on adjacent coral reefs

Dorenbosch¹,

Grol²,

Christianen³

et al. 2005

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

195

127

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There is a long-standing debate whether mangrove and seagrass habitats in the IndoPacific region function as nurseries for coral reef fishes. We studied the use of all major shallow-water habitat types by juvenile coral reef fish using visual census surveys at 4 islands along the Tanzanian coast (East Africa) and at the island of Grande Comoros (Comoros archipelago). We investigated the value of mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs, macroalgae and intertidal flats as a juvenile habitat for fish by studying density distribution patterns of juveniles and adults of 76 reef fish species in these habitats. We assessed (1) which part of the reef fish community used mangrove-seagrass habitats as juvenile or adult habitats, (2) whether adult fish densities and diversity on adjacent reefs were related to the presence of these shallow habitats, and (3) whether adults of species that use these habitats when juvenile were less abundant on coral reefs situated far away from these juvenile habitats. Seagrass beds and coral reefs were the most important juvenile fish habitats. Ontogenetic migrations between seagrass beds and reef habitats possibly occur, since several species showed their highest juvenile densities on seagrass beds, whereas adults showed their highest densities on reefs adjacent to these seagrass beds. The presence of areas with seagrass beds positively influenced adult densities of many reef fish species on adjacent coral reefs. Of the 36 fish species whose juveniles were observed in seagrass beds along the Tanzanian coast, 32 species were absent from or showed low densities on coral reefs of the island of Grande Comoros (lacking seagrass beds or mangroves). On reefs far from seagrass beds and mangroves along the Tanzanian coast, 25 of these 36 species were absent or showed low densities in comparison with reefs adjacent to these habitats. KEY WORDS: Coral reef fish · Seagrass beds · Mangroves · Juveniles · Habitat connectivity · Indian Ocean Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 302: [63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76] 2005 relatively minor, and have concluded that there is less interaction between mangroves and other coastal habitats than in the Caribbean (Quinn & Kojis 1987, Robertson & Duke 1987, Thollot & Kulbicki 1988, Kimani et al. 1996, Laroche et al. 1997, Huxham et al. 2004). Other studies, however, did report the presence of juvenile coral reef fish in mangrove areas (Lal et al. 1984, Little et al. 1988, Robertson & Duke 1990, Wakwabi & Mees 1999, de Boer et al. 2001. Hence, the importance of Indo-Pacific mangroves for juvenile fish remains unclear.Unlike mangroves, seagrass beds in the Indo-Pacific region are commonly used by juvenile coral reef fish (Jones & Chade 1975, Kimani et al. 1996, Kochzius 1997, Gullström et al. 2002, Nakamura & Sano 2004a. This means that seagrass beds may have a greater value as juvenile habitats for reef fish than mangroves. So far, however, there have been no studies in the ...

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“…The microhabitats in coral reefs and salt-marsh roots in tropical estuaries are examples of sheltering place, food and breeding opportunity for several fish species (Carpenter et al, 1981;Chabanet et al 1997;Jenkins & Wheatley, 1998;Mumby et al, 2004). In the present study, the gradual increment of the structural complexity becomes evident when we analyze the structural difference index and the turnover rate, which showed higher values in the last phases of colonization (with the immigration of several taxa), increasing the offer of shelter and/or food for the ichthyic community.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional role of fouling community on an artificial reef at the northern coast of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

2006

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A B S T R A C TThe northern coast of Rio de Janeiro State lacks natural consolidate substrates, making it a proper environment to the development of researches using artificial structures. After studies about the type of substrate, concrete seems to be the most appropriate for studying fouling community development. This research was carried out to investigate the functional role of biofouling in the development of the ichthyic community in the north of Rio de Janeiro State. Percentage data of the epibenthic organisms' coverage and samples of the fish community with gillnet and visual census showed that biofouling in artificial reefs might have more than one functional role, acting as a facilitator in the recruitment of fish species and as a link in the trophic marine chain. Through the increase of localized structural complexity provided by the reef itself and by the fouling organisms which act as "engineering species", additional protection options are offered to the ichthyic community, especially recruits. Also, the epibiont biomass represents an important link in the food web, acting either as a direct source or in the transference of energy to higher trophic levels. Through the relationship between the ichthyic and fouling communities we concluded that the functional role of the latter in artificial reef habitats could be characterized mainly as shelter and feeding grounds for few fish species. R E S U M OO litoral norte do Estado do Rio de Janeiro possui uma escassez de substrato consolidado natural tornando o ambiente propício para o desenvolvimento de pesquisas com estruturas artificiais. Após estudos conclusivos sobre o tipo de substrato, o concreto parece ser o mais apropriado para o desenvolvimento da comunidade incrustante. Novas pesquisas foram realizadas para investigar o papel funcional da bioincrustação no desenvolvimento da comunidade íctica no norte do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Dados de porcentagem de cobertura dos organismos epibênticos e amostragens da comunidade nectônica com rede de espera e censo visual, evidenciaram que a bioincrustação em recifes artificiais pode assumir mais de um papel funcional, como facilitadora no recrutamento de espécies de peixes e como elo na cadeia trófica marinha. Através do incremento da complexidade estrutural fornecida pelo próprio recife e pelos organismos incrustantes que atuam como "espécies engenheiras", opções adicionais de proteção são oferecidas para a comunidade íctica, principalmente recrutas. Além disso, a biomassa epibionte representa um importante elo na cadeia alimentar, atuando como fonte direta de alimento e/ou transferência de energia para níveis tróficos superiores. Através da relação entre as comunidades íctica e incrustante, conclui-se que o papel funcional desta última em habitats recifais artificiais caracteriza-se principalmente como abrigo e para algumas espécies também como alimentação.

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The influence of habitat structure on nearshore fish assemblages in a southern Australian embayment: Comparison of shallow seagrass, reef-algal and unvegetated sand habitats, with emphasis on their importance to recruitment

Cited by 165 publications

References 24 publications

Habitat partitioning by juvenile fishes in a temperate estuarine nursery, South Africa

Habitat partitioning by juvenile fishes in a temperate estuarine nursery, South Africa

Indo-Pacific seagrass beds and mangroves contribute to fish density and diversity on adjacent coral reefs

Functional role of fouling community on an artificial reef at the northern coast of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

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