Effect of crab size and habitat type on the locomotory activity of juvenile shore crabs, Carcinus maenas     

Maria Joo Almeida  Augusto A.V. Flores  Henrique Queiroga 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2008,80(4):509-516

Post-settlement processes are a major focus in the study of the dynamics of marine populations and communities. Post-settlement movement of juveniles is an important, but often ignored, process which affects local predator–prey and competitive interactions. We used benthic suction sampling and pitfall traps to examine density and locomotory activity of Carcinus maenas juveniles in different intertidal habitat types in the Rio Mira Estuary, Portugal, to better understand intra-specific interactions in a system where density-dependent processes are known to regulate population dynamics. As expected, significantly higher densities of juvenile shore crabs were found from bare mud compared to densely vegetated habitats. At the time of sampling, small and intermediate stages together outnumbered by far the larger juveniles. Conversely, larger crabs were much more frequent than smaller ones in traps. A locomotory index (LI), i.e. the ratio between crab catch in pitfall traps and their density within their moving range, is proposed as a measure of movement. LI analyses indicated that: (1) movement is an order of magnitude higher in large than small juveniles and much higher in sparse than dense vegetation cover; (2) activity of small juveniles is mostly crepuscular, regardless of vegetation cover; and (3) movement of large juveniles is very limited in dense Zostera patches, but very high in sparsely vegetated areas, during the day and night. These results suggest that small juveniles are relatively protected under dense vegetation cover due to lower mobility of larger crabs, and provide evidence of temporal segregation of activity windows between juvenile crabs of different sizes, which may be a key mechanism to reduce cannibalism and therefore increase the carrying capacity of nursery habitats.  相似文献   

Spatial and temporal patterns of seagrass habitat use by fishes at the Ryukyu Islands,Japan     

Yohei Nakamura  Makoto Tsuchiya 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2008

To investigate whether or not regional–temporal patterns of seagrass habitat use by fishes existed at the Ryukyu Islands (southern Japan), visual surveys were conducted in seagrass beds and adjacent coral reefs in northern, central, and southern Ryukyu Islands, in November 2004, and May, August, and November 2005, the northern region having less extensive seagrass beds compared with the central and southern regions. During the study period, the seagrass beds were utilized primarily by 31 species, the densities of some of the latter differing significantly among regions. With the exception of Apogonidae and Holocentridae, all species were diurnal and could be divided into 6 groups based on seagrass habitat use patterns; (1) permanent residents A (10 species, e.g. Stethojulis strigiventer), juveniles and adults living in seagrass beds as well as other habitats; (2) permanent residents B (5 species, e.g. Calotomus spinidens), juveniles and adults living only or mainly in seagrass beds; (3) seasonal residents A (4 species, e.g. Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus), juveniles living in seagrass beds as well as other habitats; (4) seasonal residents B (6 species, e.g. Lethrinus atkinsoni), juveniles living only or mainly in seagrass beds; (5) transients (5 species, e.g. Parupeneus indicus), occurring in seagrass beds in the course of foraging over a variety of habitats; and (6) casual species (1 species, Acanthurus blochii), occurring only occasionally in seagrass beds. Regarding temporal differences, juvenile densities in each group were high in May and August compared with November in each region, whereas adult densities did not differ drastically in each month. For regional differences, juvenile and adult densities of permanent residents A and B were higher in the southern and central regions than in the northern region. Moreover, some seasonal residents showed possible ontogenetic habitat shift from seagrass beds to coral reefs in each region. These results indicated that seagrass habitat use patterns by fishes changed temporally and regionally and there may be habitat connectivity between seagrass beds and coral reefs via ontogenetic migration in the Ryukyu Islands.  相似文献   

Influence of environmental and prey variables on low tide shorebird habitat use within the Robbins Passage wetlands,Northwest Tasmania   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Fiona L. Spruzen  Alastair M.M. RichardsonEric J. Woehler 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2008

Shorebirds feed primarily on tidal flats, and their distribution over these flats is influenced by their prey and abiotic factors. These factors act by influencing the distribution and abundance of the prey, or the shorebirds ability to exploit it. The aims of this study were to investigate the low tide foraging distribution of shorebirds at four sites within the Robbins Passage wetlands, and the environmental and invertebrate factors that may influence their distribution. The greatest densities and number of shorebirds were found at Shipwreck Point and East Inlet. The shorebirds within-site distribution was also non-random, with the shorebirds present in greatest densities at the water's edge and low intertidal stratum, although this varied among species. Generally, on a small spatial scale, invertebrate diversity was positively correlated, and seagrass leaf mass was negatively correlated, with shorebird feeding density. On a large spatial scale, invertebrate biomass and seagrass root mass were positively correlated with shorebird feeding density. Invertebrate biomass and seagrass root mass explained 71% of the variance in total shorebird feeding density on the tidal flats. The variation in shorebird feeding density and diversity was therefore partly explained by invertebrate diversity and biomass, as well as the environmental factors seagrass roots and leaf mass and tidal flat area, although the strength of these relationships was influenced by the two different spatial scales of the study. The strength of the relationships between shorebird feeding density and the invertebrate and environmental variables was stronger on a large spatial scale. The presence of seagrass may have influenced shorebird-feeding density by affecting the invertebrate abundance and composition or the shorebirds ability to detect and capture their prey. The area of the tidal flat had opposing effects on the shorebird species. These results can be used to assist in the development of management plans for the Robbins Passage wetlands and the conservation of important shorebird areas.  相似文献   

Mapping benthic habitat in regions of gradational substrata: An automated approach utilising geophysical,geological, and biological relationships     

Craig J. Brown  Jenny S. Collier 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2008

The relationship between acoustic backscatter, sediment characteristics and benthic habitat is examined using high-resolution sidescan sonar data collected at the Loch Linnhe artificial reef site on the west coast of Scotland. The site is typical for the continental shelf of NW Europe, with a mix of seabed environments from muddy to coarse, stony substrata on a 10–100 m length scale. A sidescan sonar mosaic was produced and classified according to derived backscatter parameters (mean, median and standard deviation of the backscatter values) using an unsupervised classification procedure. The accuracy of the final classified map was assessed by comparison with a ground-truthing survey in which the biological habitat was derived from underwater video footage. The sidescan correctly predicted seabed surface characteristics of observed biological habitat with 78% accuracy. A second, and more challenging test of the acoustic data to correctly predict biological habitat was made by comparing it with data from 21 grab sampling stations. These stations were divided into three groups using multivariate statistical techniques based on their backscatter properties. Benthic assemblage structure was found to be significantly distinct between the high and low, and the medium and low backscatter stations. There was a low to moderate but significant correlation between the multivariate patterns of acoustic backscatter, benthic assemblage structure, and particle size distribution. The work shows that even in areas with subtle and gradational changes in substratum, the sidescan was able to predict biological community with an acceptable accuracy.  相似文献   

Mapping large, shallow inlets and bays: modelling a Natura 2000 habitat with digital terrain and wave-exposure models     

Bekkby  Trine; Isaeus  Martin 《ICES Journal of Marine Science》2008,65(2):238-241

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Using acoustic backscatter from a sidescan sonar to explain fish and invertebrate distributions: a case study in Bristol Bay, Alaska     

Yeung  Cynthia; McConnaughey  Robert A. 《ICES Journal of Marine Science》2008,65(2):242-254

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Fish Assemblage Responses to a Low-head Dam Removal in the Lancang River     

DING Chengzhi  JIANG Xiaoming  WANG Lieen  FAN Hui  CHEN Liqiang  HU Jinming  WANG Hailong  CHEN Yifeng  SHI Xiaotao  CHEN Hao  PAN Bohui  DING Liuyong  ZHANG Chao  HE Daming 《中国地理科学(英文版)》2019,(1):26-36

Dam removal is becoming an effective approach for aquatic biodiversity restoration in damming river in order to balance the aquatic ecosystem conservation with large-scale cascade damming. However, the effects of dam removal on fish communities in Asian mountainous rivers, which are dominated by Cypriniformes fishes, are still not well known. To determine whether dam removal on a mountainous river benefit restoration of fish diversity, we investigated the response of fish assemblage to dam removal using a before-after-control-impact design in two tributaries of the Lancang River(dam removal river: the Jidu River, and control river: the Fengdian River). Fish surveys were conducted one year prior to dam removal(2012) and three years(2013–2015) following dam removal. We observed rapidly and notably spatio-temporal changes in fish biodiversity metrics and assemblage structure, occurring in the Jidu River within the first year after dam removal. Overall, fish species richness, density and Shannon-Wiener diversity all increased immediately in above-and below-dam sites, and maintained a stable level in subsequent years, compared to unchanged situation in the control river. All sites in the Jidu River experienced shifts in fish composition after dam removal, with the greatest temporal changes occurred in sites below-and above-the former dam, resulting in a temporal homogenization tendency in the dam removed river. These findings suggest that dam removal can benefit the recovery of habitat conditions and fish community in Asian mountainous rivers, but the results should be further evaluated when apply to other dammed rivers since the dam age, fluvial geomorphology and situation of source populations could all affect the responses of fish assemblages.  相似文献   

Effects of current climate,paleo-climate,and habitat heterogeneity in determining biogeographical patterns of evergreen broad-leaved woody plants in China   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

Xu  Yue  Shen  Zehao  Ying  Lingxiao  Zang  Runguo  Jiang  Youxu 《地理学报(英文版)》2019,29(7):1142-1158

Journal of Geographical Sciences - Understanding biogeographic patterns and the mechanisms underlying them has been a main issue in macroecology and biogeography, and has implications for...  相似文献   

Integration of InVEST-habitat quality model with landscape pattern indexes to assess mountain plant biodiversity change: A case study of Bailongjiang watershed in Gansu Province   总被引：3，自引：2，他引：1  

Gong  Jie  Xie  Yuchu  Cao  Erjia  Huang  Qiuyan  Li  Hongying 《地理学报(英文版)》2019,29(7):1193-1210

Journal of Geographical Sciences - Mountains in western China, hosted rich biodiversity and millions of people and inhabitant with vital ecosystem services, had experienced the most serious...  相似文献   

Method‐dependent influence of environmental variables on reef fish assemblages when comparing trap and video surveys     

Nathan R. Geraldi  Nathan M. Bacheler  G. Todd Kellison 《Marine Ecology》2019,40(1)

Despite substantial survey effort and a large body of literature on abiotic and biotic factors in temperate reef ecosystems, knowledge of the complex and interactive effects of environmental variables on those communities is limited. Various survey methods have been developed to study environmental predictors of biodiversity, but there remains a gap in our understanding of how survey results are influenced by environmental factors. Here, we surveyed the fish assemblage associated with southeastern U.S. temperate marine reefs with simultaneous, paired trap, and camera gears throughout a ~50,000 km² area during 2011–2013 and assessed the influence of environmental variables on the trap‐ and video‐surveyed assemblages. Predictor variables in the multivariate general linear models included depth, temperature, month, year, location, substrate relief, percent sessile biota, biota type, and turbidity. Depth and latitude had the greatest influence on the fish assemblage for both gears. The influence of habitat variables differed between methods and percent biota explained more variation in the fish assemblage when assessed by traps, while substrate relief and biota type explained more variation in the fish assemblage when assessed by video. In general, habitat complexity was positively related to the abundance of fishes in the video survey, but there was a negative relationship in the trap survey. Differences between gears were species‐specific and the influences of environmental variables were similar for some species such as Haemulon plumierii and Hyporthodus niveatus. The methods presented here can be used to assess method‐dependent differences in fish assemblages, which is a necessary precursor to assess the effect of environmental variables on the accuracy of surveys.  相似文献