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Importance of soft canopy structure for labrid fish communities in estuarine mesohabitats

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Abstract

Hard structural complexity is widely recognised as important for assessing fish habitat quality, but our understanding of the importance of soft habitat microstructure for temperate marine fishes is less developed. We used best-subsets modelling of underwater surveys in sponge, soft coral, and macroalgae mesohabitats within a temperate estuary to assess what measures of soft habitat structure best predicted differences in wrasse (family: Labridae) fish community composition. We found that significant differences in the labrid fish community among and within mesohabitat types were best explained by a combination of percent canopy cover and soft canopy height, with increased canopy height being correlated with increased fish abundance and species richness. Sponge and macroalgae mesohabitats emerged as particularly important, but vulnerable habitats for a diversity of fishes unique to these mesohabitat types. Ultimately, mesohabitats with high percent canopy cover and height appear to be particularly valuable for supporting estuarine fish communities. Due to this importance, and the potential for decadal-scale recovery times within sponge canopies, we suggest patches with high-quality canopy structure warrant special protection from local threats, such as anchor and fishing damage.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Martial Depczynski and Shaun Wilson for helpful discussions, two anonymous peer reviewers for constructive feedback on an earlier draft of the manuscript, and the Australian National University and New South Wales Department of Primary Industries for funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    Joshua R. van Lier, Mae M. Noble & Christopher J. Fulton

  2. Marine Ecosystems Research, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Nelson Bay, NSW, 2315, Australia

    David Harasti & Roger Laird

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  1. Joshua R. van Lier
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  2. David Harasti
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Correspondence to Joshua R. van Lier.

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This work was conducted with the approval of NSW Department of Primary Industries Animal Care and Ethics Committee permit 12/20.

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van Lier, J.R., Harasti, D., Laird, R. et al. Importance of soft canopy structure for labrid fish communities in estuarine mesohabitats. Mar Biol 164, 45 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3068-2

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