Seagrass Meadows Provide 3D Habitat for Reef Fish
| Autor: | Enric Ballesteros, Miguel Ángel Mateo, Oscar Serrano, Karina Inostroza, Paul S. Lavery, Eduard Serrano |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Posidonia 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Coral reef fish Biodiversity Ocean Engineering Escarpment Aquatic Science Oceanography 01 natural sciences Fish ecology Mediterranean sea Cave Mediterranean Sea Behaviour 14. Life underwater Indian Ocean 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Water Science and Technology Global and Planetary Change geography geography.geographical_feature_category biology Ecology 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology 15. Life on land biology.organism_classification Seagrass Habitat Geology |
| Zdroj: | Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC instname |
| ISSN: | 1701-0152 |
| Popis: | Este artículo contiene 3 páginas , 2 figuras. For large fishes, seagrass canopies typically provide a relatively flat habitat on seabeds, but seagrasses in the genus Posidonia can provide additional habitat complexity by forming organic-rich deposits known as mats. Erosional processes can scour channels through the mats, resulting in the formation of escarpments with caves. Here we report that reef fishes, such as groupers, inhabit the caves found within mat escarpments. The characteristics of the cavities are highly variable, ranging from small-elongated holes to deep caves with large entrances. The origin of these caves (biological and/or geological) is unknown, but it is possible that fish behavior enhance their formation. Posidonia seagrass escarpments provide a complex 3D habitat for reef fish that is not provided by typical canopy structure of seagrass. Further studies are required to gain insights into the natural history of seagrass escarpments and their ecological importance. This work was supported by the ECU Early Career Research Grant Scheme. OS was supported by an ARC DECRA DE170101524. This is a contribution of the Benthic Ecology Group, 2014SGR120. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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