Contrasting patterns in habitat selection and recruitment of temperate reef fishes among natural and artificial reefs

Using multidimensional contingency table analysis, we investigated the pattern of space use in an assemblage of nearshore reef fishes inhabiting small artificial reefs in Barkley Sound, British Columbia. Two variables, (1) shelter type and size, and (2) elevation above substrate, were specifically studied. All species had precise microhabitat requirements, and they all showed segregation in the spatial dimension, with the exception of the pair Sebastes caurinus – S. maliger. Only Sebastes melanops showed consistent shifts in its space use in response to increases in the density of the other members of the community, indicating that, with this exception, interspecific competition was probably a weak force in this system.

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Comparative visual ecophysiology of mid-Atlantic temperate reef fishes

Biology Open ◽

10.1242/bio.20136825 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2 (12) ◽

pp. 1371-1381 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

A. Z. Horodysky ◽

R. W. Brill ◽

K. C. Crawford ◽

E. S. Seagroves ◽

A. K. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Reef Fishes ◽

Temperate Reef

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Short- and long-term movement patterns of six temperate reef fishes (Families Labridae and Monacanthidae)

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf9950853 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 46 (5) ◽

pp. 853 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

NS Barrett

Keyword(s):

Natural Habitat ◽

Movement Patterns ◽

Reef Fishes ◽

Long Term Results ◽

Home Ranges ◽

Temperate Reef ◽

Effective Deterrent ◽

Short And Long Term ◽

Natural Boundaries

Movement patterns were studied on a 1-ha isolated reef surrounding Arch Rock in southern Tasmania. Short-term movements were identified from diver observations, and interpretation of long-term movements involved multiple recaptures of tagged individuals. Visual observations indicated that the sex-changing labrids Notolabrus tetricus, Pictilabrus laticlavius and Pseudolabrus psittaculus were all site-attached, with females having overlapping home ranges and males being territorial. In the non-sex-changing labrid Notolabrus fucicola and in the monacanthids Penicipelta vittiger and Meuschenia australis, there was no evidence of territorial behaviour and 1-h movements were in excess of the scale of the study. The long-term results indicated that all species were permanent reef residents, with most individuals of all species except M. australis always being recaptured within a home range of 100 m × 25 m or less. Only 15% of individuals of M. australis were always recaptured within this range category. The natural habitat boundary of open sand between the Arch Rock reef and adjacent reefs appeared to be an effective deterrent to emigration. The use of natural boundaries should be an important consideration in the design of marine reserves where the aim is to minimize the loss of protected species to adjacent fished areas.

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