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1.
The use of fractal geometry to evaluate seagrass scaling behavior and the persistence of seagrass landscape patterns in relation to a disturbance is presented in this paper.Ria Formosa is a dynamic barrier-island system with a migrating inlet that creates a cyclic disturbance in a seagrass landscape. Seagrass patches which develop in the intertidal and shallow subtidal areas of Ria Formosa were digitized from a temporal sequence of aerial photographs, from 1980 to 1998. The methodology used to evaluate seagrass scaling behavior was proposed by Meltzer and Hastings (1992), and relates the frequency distribution of patch size with the existence of patch size-related patterns. The Hurst exponent was calculated to assess the temporal persistence of the seagrass landscape. Univariate regression was used to investigate relations between temporal persistence and disturbance. The existence of patch size-related patterns was identified for all years suggesting shifts in generating processes occurring at different domains of scales in the seagrass landscape. The results enforces the idea that it is important to recognize the existence of diverse processes occurring at different domains of scales and, emphasizes the importance of evaluating issues of temporal and spatial scale while trying to understand changes in seagrass landscapes. The Hurst exponent estimates show that although the migration and relocation of the inlet affected this system the evolutionary trajectory of the seagrass landscape is persistent, i.e., the patch dynamics observed is stable. Furthermore, persistence values were different for differently sized patches, small patches having lower persistence then larger patches.  相似文献   

2.
Seagrass landscapes and their effects on associated fauna: A review   总被引：1，自引：2，他引：1  
Seagrasses comprise some of the most heterogeneous landscape structures of shallow-water estuarine/marine ecosystems in the world. However, while knowledge at the molecular, organism, patch and community scale is pervasive, understanding of seagrass landscape ecology is more fragmentary and has not been synthesized. The growth and recruitment dynamics of seagrasses as well as man-made and/or natural disturbances create complex spatial configurations of seagrass over broad (metres to kilometres) spatial scales. Hence, it is important to identify mechanisms maintaining and/or threatening the diversity-promoting function of seagrass meadows and to understand their effects on benthic populations and communities. Although landscape ecology has recently become more integrated into seagrass research, our understanding of animal responses to variability in seagrass landscape structure is still fragmentary. By reviewing the literature to date, this paper evaluates studies on seagrass landscape ecology, testing the general null hypothesis that concepts developed in terrestrial settings can be generalized across landscapes, and (a) presenting definitions and terms used in seagrass landscape ecology, (b) reviewing geographical patterns of seagrass landscape studies to identify possible key regions and target species, (c) evaluating different methodological approaches, (d) describing the spatial and temporal scales used to describe organism responses to seagrass landscape structure, and (e) placing seagrass landscapes into an applied context.  相似文献   

3.
Recent research and management plans for seagrass habitats have called for landscape level approaches. The present study examines the spatial utilisation of subtidal seagrass beds by fish and decapods around the coast of Jersey (49°N 02° W). A hierarchical scale of landscape configuration and the plant characteristics of eight seagrass beds were measured and the contributions of these variables as predictors of the properties of the fish and decapod assemblages were evaluated using multiple linear regression models. The results indicated that total diversity had a negative relationship with transect heterogeneity and total species number had a weak negative association with increasing fragmentation. Both total diversity and total species number showed a positive relationship with depth. In fact, in all models of species number and densities, values were higher in deeper seagrass beds. Total decapod density increased with aggregation of seagrass patches within a landscape. In addition to landscape configuration, smaller-scale structural changes in both canopy height and epiphyte load appeared to influence densities of decapod crustaceans. At night, fewer patterns could be explained by the independent variables in the model.  相似文献   

4.
An intertidal Zostera marina landscape in Torbay, Devon, UK, was sampled to investigate the relationship between patch size, diversity and infaunal assemblage composition with the intention of defining a minimum Zostera patch size where the infaunal seagrass assemblage becomes distinct from the bare sand assemblage. All Zostera patches were found to support a higher level of biodiversity than the surrounding bare sand. However, the size of the Zostera patch had no impact on the level of diversity; it was just the presence or absence of seagrass that made a difference. The sediment and seagrass variables were not significantly different across the range of Zostera patch sizes, indicating that the environment characteristics were homogeneous within the Zostera patches at the patch scale. Multivariate analysis revealed that assemblage composition did vary between the patch types, although the opportunistic polychaete Capitella capitata was present in all patch types and was the most abundant species overall. The presence of opportunistic species and the homogeneity of the Zostera patch variables may be due to the location of this intertidal seagrass bed, which is relatively exposed compared to the locations of other seagrass beds along the south coast of Devon, resulting in a more dynamic and disturbed environment. Nevertheless, our results demonstrate that even small patches of seagrass comprising a few plants support a higher abundance and diversity of infaunal invertebrates than bare sand, indicating that Zostera patches have conservation value whatever their size.  相似文献   

5.
This study documents long-term changes of a Zostera noltii landscape induced by a natural cyclic event in a coastal lagoon. The barrier-islands forming this system are very dynamic with drifting movements controlling ecological patterns and processes occurring in this area. Changes in the areal extent of the Z. noltii meadows were assessed using historical aerial photographs from 1940, 1980, 1989, 1996 and 1998. Landscape indices such as total patch area (TA), mean patch size (MPS), number of patches (NP), mean shape coefficient of variation (CV) and landscape fractal dimension (D) were calculated for each year and related to an index of disturbance intensity. The spatial distribution of the Z. noltii meadows varied greatly during the studied period and changes observed were related to the disturbance created by the barrier-islands' spatial dynamics. After an artificial inlet relocation the Z. noltii area, number of patches, patch mean size and coefficient of variation decreased. The fractal dimension of the Z. noltii landscape increased by 50% showing that besides a decrease in total area, number of patches, and patch mean area, patch fragmentation was an important consequence of this anthropogenic disturbance.Seagrass natural distribution patterns changed in response to natural and human-induced activities. This study emphasizes the importance of the landscape approach and the historical perspective when studying seagrass changes and the importance of taking into consideration long-term changes in seagrass landscapes to avoid confusion between man-induced effects with natural cyclic events.  相似文献   

6.
There is increasing interest among ecologists about how the type of matrix surrounding a habitat patch influences the organisms living in that patch. This question is virtually unstudied in marine systems. In this paper I show that the mobile faunal assemblage in seagrass patches does depend on the surrounding matrix. Faunal assemblages in patches of Posidonia surrounded by sand are different than in those surrounded by Heterozostera, another seagrass, having more than double the abundance of both amphipods and polychaetes. However, the differences are not simply due to spillover from the matrix habitat, but rather are an emergent property of the patch context that cannot be predicted. Posidonia surrounded by sand actually has an assemblage that is intermediate between Heterozostera and Posidonia surrounded by Heterozostera. Differences in habitat structure do not account for this pattern, as seagrass biomass did not vary, and the same result was found in artificial seagrass. The faunal assemblage did not vary depending on the location within the patch (edge or centre) for Heterozostera, Posidonia or artificial seagrass. Patch size, however, did have an effect for Heterozostera, with smaller patches having 2–3 times as many isopods per sample as large, but less than half the number of some amphipod families. These results suggest that the landscape context is as important in marine systems as it is known to be in terrestrial systems.  相似文献   

7.
Seagrass meadow characteristics, including distribution, shape, size and within‐meadow architectural features, may be influenced by various physical factors, including hydrodynamic forces. However, such influences have hardly been assessed for meadows of the ecologically important and endemic Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica. The distribution of P. oceanica meadows at five sites in the Maltese Islands was mapped to a depth of c. 15 m using a combination of aerial photography and SCUBA diving surveys. Estimates of wind‐generated wave energy and energy attenuated by depth were computed using the hydrodynamic model WEMo (Wave Exposure Model). Metrics for P. oceanica landscape features were calculated using FRAGSTATS for replicate 2500 m2 subsamples taken from the seagrass habitat maps in order to explore the influence of wave dynamics at the landscape scale. Data on within‐meadow architectural attributes were collected from five sites and analysed for relationships with wave energy. The results indicate that landscape and architectural features of P. oceanica meadows located within the 6–11 m depth range are significantly influenced by wave climate. Posidonia oceanica meadows tend to be patchier and have low overall cover, more complex patch shapes and reduced within‐patch architectural complexity along a wave exposure gradient from low to high energy. The findings from the present study provide new insight into the influence of hydrodynamic factors on the natural dynamism of P. oceanica meadow landscape and architecture, which has implications for the conservation and management of the habitat.  相似文献   

8.
Habitat choice of reef fish larvae at settlement is one of the mechanisms proposed to explain spatial patterns in the distribution of fishes and the corresponding spatial structure of communities. Field experiments using Pomacentridae were conducted at Iriomote Island, southern Japan, in order to determine if rare recruitment of coral reef fishes in seagrass beds is due to larval settlement preference. When three types of natural patch treatments (branching coral patch, seagrass patch, and control without patches) were established in cleared seagrass squares in the center of a seagrass bed, four pomacentrid species, Amblyglyphidodon curacao, Dischistodus prosopotaenia, Cheiloprion labiatus, and Dascyllus aruanus, recruited exclusively onto the coral patches, indicating that larvae distributed in the seagrass bed may have preferred a coral rather than seagrass substrate as a settlement habitat. The effects of differences in physical shape (grid structure for branching coral vs. vertical structure for seagrass leaves) and rigidity (rigid substrate for coral vs. flexible substrate for seagrass) between coral and seagrass substrates on such recruitment patterns were investigated using artificial coral and seagrass units. When artificial habitat units with predator exclusion cages were established in the cleared seagrass squares as above, high densities of A. curacao and D. prosopotaenia recruits were observed on the rigid rather than flexible habitat units (both unit types having similar shape), whereas differences in recruit numbers of the two species were unclear in differently shaped units. These results demonstrated that even though pomacentrid larvae are distributed in the seagrass bed, they do not settle on the seagrass substrate owing to their habitat choice being partially based on a preference for substrate rigidity. Moreover, non-recruitment of C. labiatus and D. aruanus on artificial habitat units suggested that the presence of living coral substrates rather than physical shape/rigidity of substrates are an important cue for habitat choice of these fishes.  相似文献   

9.
Whereas diel fish migration between mangrove and seagrass habitats has been recognized for decades, quantitative studies have focused mainly on diurnal patterns of fish distribution and abundance. In general, previous studies have shown that fish abundances decline with increasing distance from mangroves; however, evidence for such a pattern at night, when many fishes are actively feeding, is scarce. The present study is the first to report nocturnal fish abundances along a continuous distance gradient from mangroves across adjacent seagrass habitat (0–120 m). Here, we used nocturnal seine sampling to test the null hypothesis (based on diurnal studies and limited nocturnal work) that fish abundance would decrease with increasing distance from shoreline. We focused on species and life‐stage‐specific abundance patterns of Lutjanus griseus, Sphyraena barracuda, Archosargus rhomboidalis, and Haemulon sciurus. Results indicated that assemblage composition and structure differed significantly by season, likely influenced by temperature. However, within each season, the fish habitat use pattern at both the assemblage and species‐specific level generally failed to support our working null hypothesis. Species‐specific analyses revealed that, for most species and life‐stages examined, nocturnal abundance either did not change with distance or increased with distance from the mangrove‐seagrass ecotone. Our results suggest that analyses where taxa are grouped to report overall patterns may have the potential to overlook significant species‐ and stage‐specific variation. For fishes known to make nocturnal migrations, we recommend nocturnal sampling to determine habitat utilization patterns, especially when inferring nursery value of multiple habitats or when estimating fish production.  相似文献   

10.
The ecology and diversity of the shallow soft‐bottom areas adjacent to coral reefs are still poorly known. To date, the few studies conducted in these habitats dealing with macroinvertebrate fauna have focused on their abundance spatial patterns at high taxonomic levels. Thus, some aspects important to evaluate the importance and vulnerability of these habitats, such as species diversity or the degree of habitat specialization, have often been overlooked. In this study we compared the crustacean assemblages present in four different habitats at Magoodhoo Island coral reef lagoon (Maldives): coral rubble, sandy areas and two different seagrass species (Thalassia hemprichii and Cymodocea sp.). Forty‐two different crustacean species belonging to 30 families and four orders were found. ‘Site’ was a significant factor in all of the statistical analyses, indicating that tropical soft‐bottom habitats can be highly heterogeneous, even at a spatial scale between tens and hundreds of meters. Although traditionally it has been considered that seagrass beds host greater species diversity and abundance of organisms than adjacent unvegetated habitats, no differences in the univariate measures of fauna (abundance of organisms, number of species and Shannon diversity) were observed among habitats. However, sandy areas, coral rubble and seagrass beds exhibited different species composition of crustacean communities. The percentage of taxa considered as potential habitat specialists was 27% and the number of species exclusively occurring in one habitat was especially high in seagrass beds. Thus, degradation of this vegetated habitat would result in a great loss of biodiversity in tropical shallow soft‐bottom habitats.  相似文献   

11.
In the northern Wadden Sea, the extent of intertidal seagrass beds, their plant biomass and shoot density highly depends on local current regimes. This study deals with the role of intertidal Zostera noltii beds as nursery for mobile epibenthic macrofauna and the impact of seagrass bed characteristics on their abundance and distribution patterns. According to their exposure to the main tidal gullies, sampling sites were separated into exposed, semi-exposed and sheltered. Dominant species of crustaceans and demersal fish were studied in respect of their abundances within seagrass beds and adjacent unvegetated areas. Quantitative sampling was performed at day and night high tide using a portable drop trap. In general, species composition varied little between seagrass beds and bare sand. However, the presence of vegetation had a quantitative effect increasing individual numbers of common epifaunal species. Abundances of 0-group shore crabs (Carcinus maenas), common gobies (Pomatoschistus microps) and brown shrimps (Crangon crangon) were highest within sheltered seagrass beds. With decreasing plant density habitat preference of epibenthos changed on species level. By regulating the habitat complexity the currents regime is profoundly influencing the nursery function of intertidal seagrass beds in the Wadden Sea.  相似文献   

12.
Abstract. A seagrass bed in Otsuchi Bay, northeastern Japan, consists of three seagrass species ( Zostera marina, Z. caulescens and Z. caespitosa ) that differ in morphology and phenology. We studied the mobile epifaunal community in the seagrass bed to examine (1) whether seasonal and between-substrate variation in the epifaunal community agrees with variation in seagrass abundance and morphological complexity, and (2) whether patterns of seasonal and between-substrate variation vary among epifaunal species. We collected mobile epifauna from each of Z. marina and Z. caulescens on 11 occasions between October 1995 and November 1996 (at 1 – 1.5 month intervals) using a hand-closing net. A total of 9 842 individuals of mobile epiphytic animals were collected and they were classified into 80 taxa. Abundance and species richness of the epifaunal community were high in summer to autumn and low in winter to spring, and diversity index and evenness were higher in Z. marina than Z. caulescens . However, patterns of seasonal and between-substrate variation in these parameters did not parallel those in seagrass abundance and complexity. Most of the dominant epifaunal species showed significant seasonal and between-substrate variation in abundance, although their patterns varied greatly among individual species. A cluster analysis recognized several distinct groups of animals showing similar seasonal and between-substrate variation. Our findings suggest that the observed variation in the epifaunal community is not determined by a single or some strong external factors but by complex interactions of multiple factors operating differently for each component species.  相似文献   

13.
海草床是海岸带最富生产力的生态系统之一，支撑着各种各样的伴生生物。热带的印度和太平洋地区被认为拥有海草植物种类多样性最高，且分布面积最广，然而，这个区域的海草床大型底栖生物我们知之甚少。为了填补认知的空白，我们在该区域开展了一项生态调查，旨在描述该区热带海草床大型底栖生物的丰度和多样性，以及确定大型底栖生物丰度、物种丰富度和群落结构是否明显存在断面内的站间变化和样地间变化。2014年5月和2015年10月我们分别在北苏拉威西省东海岸和西海岸开展野外工作，使用柱状取样器采集海草床大型底栖生物样品。所得样品共计鉴定14大类149种底栖生物，种类最为丰富的类别为多毛类（56种，占26%的总个体数），十足类（20种，占9%的总个体数）和端足类（18种，占35%的总个体数）。东、西海岸海草床大型底栖生物表现出不同的空间分布模式。在东海岸，同一断面的大型底栖生物和端足类的丰度存在显著的站间差异；而在西海岸，大型底栖生物和多毛类的种类丰富度和丰度都表现出明显的站间变化，这可能归结于同一断面底质不均所造成。单因素ANOSIM以及MDS排序表明了北苏拉威西省东海岸和西海岸海草床大型底栖生物群落结构存在显著不同，正好对应于将海草床分成两大类型的栖息地，即西海岸的红树林-海草床-珊瑚连续体和东海岸的海草床-珊瑚连续体。与在热带海区开展的其他研究相比，本研究的大型底栖生物丰度和多样性处于中等水平。东、西海岸海草床大型底栖生物群落存在显著区别，其原因可能源于多方面，包括了沉积物模式，海草床结构和时间变化。  相似文献   

14.
Macroalgal wrack deposition along coasts is highly variable but it plays an important role in the structure and function of marine communities. To date, most research has focused on the effects of decomposing wrack as it assimilates into the system but little is known about the immediate effects of wrack when it is first deposited in the habitat. Freshly deposited wrack may either wash away after a short period (1–2 days) or remain in the habitat and decay depending on tide and weather conditions. To understand the effects of this dynamic resource we experimentally manipulated wrack deposits on intertidal mudflats in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia. We conducted two experiments using defaunated patches of wrack (300 g wet weight) that were a mixture of seagrass and macroalgae and measured community responses after 2 days. The first experiment included real and artificial wrack patches to differentiate between taxa that responded to the biological and physical structure of the wrack. The second experiment used multiple wrack patches to investigate responses to a focal wrack patch that was surrounded by varying numbers of wrack additional patches (0, 2 or 4 × 300 g wet weight of wrack). Overall, wrack increased abundances of invertebrates and changed their distributions throughout the wrack and underlying sediment habitat. Mechanisms responsible for immediate taxa responses to the wrack related to the physical structure in the habitat and not biological attributes associated with the real patches. Ostracods and leptostracans were the exception to these patterns with colonization only occurring in real wrack and not the artificial wrack. In the multiple patch experiment the majority of the fauna moved vertically into the wrack from the bare sediment and not between surrounding patches of wrack. We suggest that specific characteristics, such as invertebrate mobility, feeding mode and sensitivity to changes in sediment condition, are important factors that influence individual taxa and overall community responses. Understanding the interactive effects of these characteristics with the characteristics of the wrack (magnitude, frequency, spatial arrangement and composition) is the key to developing predictive models that will inform the management of wrack in marine coastal habitats.  相似文献   

15.
From the Indian coast only limited data are available on the benthic fauna of the seagrass communities. In this study, seasonal variation in the distribution of macrobenthos and influence of environmental parameters was explored at four seagrass beds and two mangrove stations along the Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, India, from September 1999 to August 2001. A total of 160 macrobenthic species from eight major groups represented the macrofauna of the Minicoy Island. Of the identified taxa, molluscs 70（gastropods 41.46%, bivalves 7.5%）, polychaetes 27（16.88%）, crustaceans 30（18.75%）, echinoderms 11（6.88%） and remaining others. Average seasonal abundance of benthic macrofauna ranged from 219 to 711 ind./m2, species diversity varied from 1.45 to 3.64 bits per individual, species richness index ranged from 4.01 to 26.17, evenness 0.69 to 1.66. In general, the higher abundance and species diversity was noticed in southern seagrass stations and northern seagrass stations, but in the mangrove stations comparatively low species diversity was observed. Three-way analysis of variance indicated that all communities resulted as being significantly different between seagrass and mangrove station, mainly when the seasonal interaction was considered. Multivariate analyses were employed to help define benthic characteristic and the relationship between environmental parameters at the six monitoring stations. Results of cluster analyses and multidimensional scale plot suggest that for mangrove region, different physiographic provinces, lower salinity, dissolved oxygen and sediment biotic structure have a higher influence on the species composition and diversity than other oceanographic conditions.  相似文献   

16.
The influence of seagrass beds on intertidal infaunal communities has been widely studied, with vegetated areas typically having higher diversity and abundances than adjacent bare sand patches. Such “seagrass–sand” comparisons, however, do not reflect the gradient of seagrass cover that may exist across large landscapes. We studied the large-scale distribution of intertidal macrozoobenthos over approximately 10,000 ha of sandflat on Farewell Spit, New Zealand. The benthic fauna, sediment composition and surface cover of the seagrass Zostera muelleri were studied at 192 sites evenly spaced along 30 transects covering the length of the 30 km spit. Most sites had Zostera present, generally at low densities (1–25% surface cover). Overall, invertebrate taxon diversity increased with Zostera cover, from a median of 4 taxa at sites with no Zostera to 23 at sites with high Zostera cover. Multivariate analyses of 37 frequently occurring taxa (of the 91 recognised) indicated that there was a site gradient of taxon abundances that reflected seagrass cover, with 23 taxa increasing as Zostera cover increased. Only three taxa tended to be found more where Zostera was scarce. Seventeen taxa were identified as being significant indicators of Zostera cover; in all cases abundances peaked with high Zostera scores. Cluster analysis revealed a number of major groupings. One group was associated with low Zostera; two were strongly associated with high Zostera cover; a fourth was probably distinguished by low tidal elevation and proximity to channels. On the Farewell Spit tidal flats, large-scale patterns of abundance seem to be largely structured by the presence and density of Zostera.  相似文献   

17.
为进一步了解游泳动物群落结构,探究群落结构变动的生态过程,本研究利用生态位优先模型（NPM）、分割线段模型（BSM）、生态位重叠模型（ONM）、优势优先模型（DPM）和随机分配模型（RAM）共5种多度格局模型分析闽南海域游泳动物的群落结构特征。结果显示:闽南海域游泳动物共192种,其中鱼类132种,蟹类31种,虾类13种,头足类10种,口足类6种;NPM拟合游泳动物多度分布的效果较好,ONM的拟合效果较差,闽南海域游泳动物群落结构具有优势种占较大优势、物种生态位之间不重叠的特点;由外海到近岸的渔区,游泳动物多度分布格局由DPM向NPM 转变,NPM的拟合效果渐差,BSM的拟合效果越来越好,群落结构呈现优势种的地位下降、物种数增多、个体数目分配趋均匀的趋势;从低纬度到高纬度,在水深较深的渔区,DPM拟合游泳动物多度分布的效果渐好,优势种的优势地位逐渐升高,种类数变少,物种多度分布越来越不均匀。而在水深较浅的渔区,DPM的拟合效果渐差,优势种的优势地位逐渐下降,种类数变多,物种多度分布越来越均匀。因此,生态位优先模型比较适合闽南海域游泳动物多度分布格局的研究。  相似文献   

18.
An extensive Posidonia oceanica meadow was partially destroyed by excavation, resulting in areas of seagrass habitat of equal complexity (shoot density) but different heterogeneity (degree of fragmentation). The fish assemblages associated with differently fragmented beds were compared from a landscape perspective. Differences in the fish assemblages were detected, with several species showing different patterns: (1) species that increased their abundance along with the degree of bed fragmentation, (2) species that were more abundant in fragmented beds, but did not show differences between more or less fragmented beds, and (3) species that were mostly abundant in large seagrass patches or in the continuous meadow. The fish assemblages were also affected by depth, but further research is needed to determine properly this effect. Some ecological mechanisms are suggested to operate in the interaction between P. oceanica and the held fish assemblage.  相似文献   

19.
Marine turtles are considered keystone consumers in tropical coastal ecosystems and their decline through overexploitation has been implicated in the deterioration of reefs and seagrass pastures in the Caribbean. In the present study, we analysed stomach contents of green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) harvested in the legal turtle fishery of the Turks and Caicos Islands (Caribbean) during 2008–2010. Small juveniles to adult‐sized turtles were sampled. Together with data from habitat surveys, we assessed diet composition and the taxonomic distinctness (and other species diversity measures) in the diets of these sympatric marine turtle species. The diet of green turtles (n = 92) consisted of a total of 47 taxa: including three species of seagrass (present in 99% of individuals), 29 species of algae and eight sponge species. Hawksbill turtles (n = 45) consumed 73 taxa and were largely spongivorous (16 species; sponges present in 100% of individuals) but also foraged on 50 species of algae (present in 73% of individuals) and three species of seagrass. Plastics were found in trace amounts in 4% of green turtle and 9% of hawksbill turtle stomach samples. We expected to find changes in diet that might reflect ontogenetic shifts from small (oceanic‐pelagic) turtles to larger (coastal‐benthic) turtles. Dietary composition (abundance and biomass), however, did not change significantly with turtle size, although average taxonomic distinctness was lower in larger green turtles. There was little overlap in prey between the two turtle species, suggesting niche separation. Taxonomic distinctness routines indicated that green turtles had the most selective diet, whereas hawksbill turtles were less selective than expected when compared with the relative frequency and biomass of diet items. We discuss these findings in relation to the likely important trophic roles that these sympatric turtle species play in reef and seagrass habitats.  相似文献   

20.
The epipelagic and mesopelagic nekton communities of the northern California Current have been sampled somewhat continuously over the last four decades with bottom and pelagic trawls, small midwater trawls, and purse seines. We review the zoogeography and community and environmental associations of the dominant pelagic micronekton and nekton species in this region with a view to understanding their role in this dynamic marine ecosystem. As is typical of many upwelling eastern boundary current regions, the pelagic biomass is dominated by a few species that fluctuate dramatically through time. The abundance trends of pelagic nekton caught in this region demonstrated large-scale ecosystem changes about the time of the regime shifts of 1976/77 and 1989 and possibly another beginning in 1999. The rapidity of the changes in composition indicates that the response was due to a change in migration or distribution patterns as opposed to recruitment patterns. The 1989 regime shift led to a dramatic increase in sardine and a decrease in anchovy populations. The most pronounced interannual signals were attributed to strong El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions in 1983 and 1998 that altered the latitudinal ranges and proximity to the coast of many pelagic species. Variations in abundance and cross-shelf distribution patterns were noted for both pelegic nekton and micronektonic from surveys off California, Oregon, and Washington.  相似文献   

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