What makes a habitat a home? Habitat associations of juvenile European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, in estuarine nurseries.

Autor: Freeman HA; School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK., Hepburn LJ; School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK., Taylor MI; School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK., Hunter E; School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.; Lowestoft Laboratory, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK., Dumbrell AJ; School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK., Gregson BH; School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.; School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK., Smith AJ; School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK., Lamphierre A; School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK., Cameron TC; School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of fish biology [J Fish Biol] 2024 Aug; Vol. 105 (2), pp. 539-556. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 03.
DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15791
Abstrakt: Selection of nursery habitats by marine fish, such as European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), is poorly understood. Identifying and protecting the full range of juvenile nursery habitats is vital to supporting resilient fish populations and economically important fisheries. We examined how the condition, stomach fullness, and diet of juvenile European sea bass, along with their abundance, differ at high or low tide between the following estuarine habitats: saltmarsh, oyster reefs, shingle, sand, and mud edge habitats. Using a combination of fyke and seine netting we found no difference in sea bass abundance or condition across high-tide habitats, suggesting that rather than differentially selecting between them, juvenile sea bass use all available shallow habitats at high tide. Stomach fullness was significantly higher on saltmarsh and sand compared to mud, and thus these habitats may support better foraging. Dietary DNA metabarcoding revealed that sand and saltmarsh diets mostly comprised Hediste polychaetes, whereas zooplanktonic taxa dominated diets over mud. At low tide, sea bass abundance was highest in shingle and oyster reefs, where stomach fullness and condition were lowest. This may indicate a potential trade-off between using habitats for foraging and refuge. Although sea bass abundance alone does not capture productivity, the high abundance across all estuarine habitats at high tide suggests that it is important to consider the protection of a mosaic of interconnected habitats to support nursery functions rather than focus on individual habitat types.
(© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Fish Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Fisheries Society of the British Isles.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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