scholarly journals Fish−habitat associations in New Zealand: geographical contrasts

2012 ◽  
Vol 450 ◽  
pp. 131-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
RG Cole ◽  
NK Davey ◽  
GD Carbines ◽  
R Stewart
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Habitat Associations

scholarly journals Effects of Macroalgal Habitats on the Community and Population Structure of Temperate Reef Fishes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alejandro Perez Matus
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Spatial Variation ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Brown Macroalgae ◽  
Reef Fish Species

<p>Two families of brown macroalgae that occur in sympatry dominate temperate subtidal rocky coasts: the Laminareales, and the Fucales. Both of these families are habitat-forming species for a wide variety of invertebrates and fishes. Variation in the presence, density, and composition of brown macroalgae can have large influences on the evolution and ecology of associated organisms. Here, using a series of observational and experimental studies, I evaluated the effects of heterogeneity in the composition of brown macroalgal stands at the population and community levels for reef fishes. A central ecological challenge is the description of patterns that occur at local scales, and how these are manifested at larger ones. I conducted further sampling across a set of sites nested within locations over three regions, Juan Fernandez Islands (Chile), Northern New Zealand, and Tasmania (Australia), to evaluate patterns of variation in the diversity and composition of fish assemblages. Specifically, I explored spatial variation in fish assemblages as a function of rocky reef habitats (dominated by brown-macroalgae) and other sources of variation (abiotic and biotic factors) that potentially mediate the relationship between fishes and reef habitats. Analyses suggest that spatial variation in diversity (e.g., species and trophic) may be explained by spatial variation in depth, temperature, and composition of macroalgal habitats. At each location, only 2-3 families dominated the composition of fish assemblages, but species identities varied among locations. In a subsequent study, I assessed the fish-habitat associations from sites within the Juan Fernandez Islands, an isolated eastern Pacific Island that lack large brown macroalgae. I found that, despite the close proximity of these Islands to the South American continent, fish assemblages were mostly composed of endemic representatives from families that dominate the fish assemblages in New Zealand and Australia. Spatial variation in depth and temperature did not contribute to the observed variation in fish abundance. Instead, I found that benthic habitat-forming species (particularly foliose brown macroalgae) appeared to limit the abundance of some reef fishes. These results suggest that a mixture of large-scale (e.g., stochastic recruitment) and small-scale processes (i.e., relating to habitat heterogeneity) influence the diversity, composition and abundance of fish assemblages. Subsequently, I evaluated relationships between reef fishes and macroalgae composition across multiple sites, surveyed repeatedly over four seasons. I found that fishes were associated with different components of heterogeneity in macroalgal habitats, potentially indicating interspecific partitioning of resources that may arise from differential feeding habits and sizesusceptibility to predation. Seasonal variation in the fish-habitat associations was detected, and site differences in macroalgal composition explained significant variation in the local diversity of fishes. Using a series of small-scale lab and field-based manipulative experiments, I determined the demographic and behavioural responses of reefassociated fishes to heterogeneity in the composition of brown macroalgal habitats. I found that (i) different fish species distinguished between monospecific macroalgae stands (macroalgal identity affected the abundance of 7 of 15 reef fish species); (ii) there is within-species variation in the response of fishes to macroalgal composition (suggesting ontogenetic habitat shifts); and (iii) the abundance of 5 of 7 reef fish species, and the overall structure of the local fish assemblage, varied with the composition of mixed-species macroalgal stands. Lastly, I evaluated the potential for fishes to provision demographic feedbacks to macroalgae. Specifically, I conducted a mesocosm experiment to evaluate the effects of fishes on grazing amphipods, and therefore, the potential indirect-effects of fishes on large-brown macroalgae. I found that only one of the two fish species studied reduced grazer abundance. Although the second fish species did not consume grazing amphipods, its presence altered amphipod behaviour to significantly reduce grazing efficiency on the macroalgal-host. This study illustrates how density and trait-mediated indirect interactions can have similar effects on primary producers. Overall, my observational and experimental components of this thesis emphasize the influence of heterogeneity in macroalgal structures on the breadth of habitat use for reef fishes at multiple locations. I found strong behaviourally mediated linkages between the abundance of reef fishes and composition of macroalgal stand. I also provide some evidence that mutualistic relationships may exist between kelp and associated fishes.</p>

scholarly journals Effects of Macroalgal Habitats on the Community and Population Structure of Temperate Reef Fishes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alejandro Perez Matus
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Spatial Variation ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Brown Macroalgae ◽  
Reef Fish Species

<p>Two families of brown macroalgae that occur in sympatry dominate temperate subtidal rocky coasts: the Laminareales, and the Fucales. Both of these families are habitat-forming species for a wide variety of invertebrates and fishes. Variation in the presence, density, and composition of brown macroalgae can have large influences on the evolution and ecology of associated organisms. Here, using a series of observational and experimental studies, I evaluated the effects of heterogeneity in the composition of brown macroalgal stands at the population and community levels for reef fishes. A central ecological challenge is the description of patterns that occur at local scales, and how these are manifested at larger ones. I conducted further sampling across a set of sites nested within locations over three regions, Juan Fernandez Islands (Chile), Northern New Zealand, and Tasmania (Australia), to evaluate patterns of variation in the diversity and composition of fish assemblages. Specifically, I explored spatial variation in fish assemblages as a function of rocky reef habitats (dominated by brown-macroalgae) and other sources of variation (abiotic and biotic factors) that potentially mediate the relationship between fishes and reef habitats. Analyses suggest that spatial variation in diversity (e.g., species and trophic) may be explained by spatial variation in depth, temperature, and composition of macroalgal habitats. At each location, only 2-3 families dominated the composition of fish assemblages, but species identities varied among locations. In a subsequent study, I assessed the fish-habitat associations from sites within the Juan Fernandez Islands, an isolated eastern Pacific Island that lack large brown macroalgae. I found that, despite the close proximity of these Islands to the South American continent, fish assemblages were mostly composed of endemic representatives from families that dominate the fish assemblages in New Zealand and Australia. Spatial variation in depth and temperature did not contribute to the observed variation in fish abundance. Instead, I found that benthic habitat-forming species (particularly foliose brown macroalgae) appeared to limit the abundance of some reef fishes. These results suggest that a mixture of large-scale (e.g., stochastic recruitment) and small-scale processes (i.e., relating to habitat heterogeneity) influence the diversity, composition and abundance of fish assemblages. Subsequently, I evaluated relationships between reef fishes and macroalgae composition across multiple sites, surveyed repeatedly over four seasons. I found that fishes were associated with different components of heterogeneity in macroalgal habitats, potentially indicating interspecific partitioning of resources that may arise from differential feeding habits and sizesusceptibility to predation. Seasonal variation in the fish-habitat associations was detected, and site differences in macroalgal composition explained significant variation in the local diversity of fishes. Using a series of small-scale lab and field-based manipulative experiments, I determined the demographic and behavioural responses of reefassociated fishes to heterogeneity in the composition of brown macroalgal habitats. I found that (i) different fish species distinguished between monospecific macroalgae stands (macroalgal identity affected the abundance of 7 of 15 reef fish species); (ii) there is within-species variation in the response of fishes to macroalgal composition (suggesting ontogenetic habitat shifts); and (iii) the abundance of 5 of 7 reef fish species, and the overall structure of the local fish assemblage, varied with the composition of mixed-species macroalgal stands. Lastly, I evaluated the potential for fishes to provision demographic feedbacks to macroalgae. Specifically, I conducted a mesocosm experiment to evaluate the effects of fishes on grazing amphipods, and therefore, the potential indirect-effects of fishes on large-brown macroalgae. I found that only one of the two fish species studied reduced grazer abundance. Although the second fish species did not consume grazing amphipods, its presence altered amphipod behaviour to significantly reduce grazing efficiency on the macroalgal-host. This study illustrates how density and trait-mediated indirect interactions can have similar effects on primary producers. Overall, my observational and experimental components of this thesis emphasize the influence of heterogeneity in macroalgal structures on the breadth of habitat use for reef fishes at multiple locations. I found strong behaviourally mediated linkages between the abundance of reef fishes and composition of macroalgal stand. I also provide some evidence that mutualistic relationships may exist between kelp and associated fishes.</p>

scholarly journals Effects of alternate reef states on coral reef fish habitat associations

2011 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 421-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lecchini ◽  
Laure Carassou ◽  
Bruno Frédérich ◽  
Yohei Nakamura ◽  
Suzanne C. Mills ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Reef Fish ◽  
Coral Reef Fish ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Habitat Associations

scholarly journals Trait‐habitat associations explain novel bird assemblages mixing native and alien species across New Zealand landscapes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean‐Yves Barnagaud ◽  
Eckehard G. Brockerhoff ◽  
Raphaël Mossion ◽  
Paul Dufour ◽  
Sandrine Pavoine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Bird Assemblages

Seasonal trends and fish-habitat associations around Pari Island, Indonesia: setting a baseline for environmental monitoring

2012 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hawis H. Madduppa ◽  
Sebastian C. A. Ferse ◽  
Unggul Aktani ◽  
Harry W. Palm
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Monitoring ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Seasonal Trends

Geographic, anthropogenic, and habitat influences on Great Lakes coastal wetland fish assemblages

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (8) ◽  
pp. 1328-1342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anett S. Trebitz ◽  
John C. Brazner ◽  
Nicholas P. Danz ◽  
Mark S. Pearson ◽  
Gregory S. Peterson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Aquatic Vegetation ◽  
Coastal Wetland ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Water Clarity ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Submerged Vegetation ◽  
Great Lakes Coastal Wetland ◽  
Natural Watersheds

We analyzed data from coastal wetlands across the Laurentian Great Lakes to identify fish assemblage patterns and relationships to habitat, watershed condition, and regional setting. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination of electrofishing catch-per-effort data revealed an overriding geographic and anthropogenic stressor gradient that appeared to structure fish composition via impacts on water clarity and vegetation structure. Wetlands in Lakes Erie and Michigan with agricultural watersheds, turbid water, little submerged vegetation, and a preponderance of generalist, tolerant fishes occupied one end of this gradient, while wetlands in Lake Superior with largely natural watersheds, clear water, abundant submerged vegetation, and diverse fishes occupied the other. Fish composition was also related to wetland morphology, hydrology, exposure, and substrate, but this was only evident within low-disturbance wetlands. Anthropogenic stress appears to homogenize fish composition among wetlands and mask other fish–habitat associations. Because land use is strongly spatially patterned across the Great Lakes and aquatic vegetation is a key habitat element that responds to both biogeography and disturbance, it is difficult to disentangle natural from anthropogenic drivers of coastal wetland fish composition.

scholarly journals Untangling the Lactifluus clarkeae - Lf. flocktoniae (Russulaceae) species complex in Australasia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Lebel ◽  
J. Douch ◽  
L. Tegart ◽  
L. Vaughan ◽  
J.A. Cooper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Species Complex ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Range Extension ◽  
Cryptic Diversity ◽  
Identification Of Species

The Lactifluus clarkeae complex is a commonly observed, generally brightly coloured, group of mushrooms that are usually associated with Nothofagus or Myrtaceous hosts in Australia and New Zealand. For this study collections labelled as ‘Lactarius clarkeae’, ‘Russula flocktoniae’ and ‘Lactarius subclarkeae’ were examined morpiperatphologically and molecularly. Analyses of molecular data showed a high cryptic diversity, with sequences scattered across 11 clades in three subgenera within Lactifluus, and a single collection in Russula. We select epitypes to anchor the currently accepted concepts of Lf. clarkeae s.str. and Lf. flocktoniae s.str. The name Lf. subclarkeae could not be applied to any of the collections examined, as none had a lamprotrichoderm pileipellis. Lactifluus clarkeae var. aurantioruber is raised to species level, and six new species are described, three in subg. Lactifluus: Lf. jetiae, Lf. pagodicystidiatus, and Lf. rugulostipitatus, and three in subg. Gymnocarpi: Lf. albens, Lf. psammophilus, and Lf. pseudoflocktoniae. A new collection of Lf. russulisporus provides a significant range extension for the species. Untangling this complex will enable better identification of species and increase understanding of diversity and specific habitat associations of macrofungi.

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