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Depth and habitat determine assemblage structure of South Africa’s warm-temperate reef fish

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Abstract

Depth and habitat are important predictors of fish assemblage structure, yet current no-take marine protected area (MPA) networks are generally limited to providing refuge for fish species that inhabit shallow waters and may exclude deep habitats essential to exploited populations. To ensure MPA efficacy at the design, uptake and management levels, baseline data on fish populations associated with deep nearshore reefs are needed. This study employed baited remote underwater stereo-video systems to investigate fish habitat associations at shallow (11–25 m) and deep (45–75 m) reef sites in the Tsitsikamma National Park MPA, South Africa. The compositions of fish assemblages at shallow and deep reef sites were significantly different. Specifically, rare species, juveniles and low trophic level species dominated the shallow reef, while deep reef assemblages were characterised by large, sexually mature and predatory fish. The body size of abundant species was also correlated with depth, with larger individuals being more abundant on deeper reefs. Habitat types were identified according to a habitat classification system established in a previous study, which resulted in four broad depth separated habitat types (defined by macrobenthos and environmental variables). Canonical analysis of principle coordinates (CAP) indicated that habitat type was a good categorical predictor of the observed fish assemblages. The CAP analysis determined that 86 % of the samples were correctly assigned to the habitat type from which they were collected, indicating that specific fish assemblages were associated with distinct habitat types. This study highlights the importance of protecting both shallow and deep reefs, not only to ensure the conservation of particular fish assemblages, but also to provide protection for all stages of the life cycle of fish species.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this project was provided by the National Research Foundation of South Africa, the Elwandle Node of the South African Environmental Observation Network, the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme and the British Ecological Society. We thank SANParks, in particular Kyle Smith, CapeNature and Laura Fullwood for their assistance in the field and Angus Paterson for his constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, PO Box 94, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    E. R. Heyns-Veale, A. T. F. Bernard & N. B. Richoux

  2. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), Private Bag 1015, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    E. R. Heyns-Veale & A. T. F. Bernard

  3. South African Environmental Observation Network, Elwandle Node, Private Bag 1015, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    E. R. Heyns-Veale, D. Parker & A. Götz

  4. Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, Rhodes University, PO Box 94, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    D. Parker

  5. The UWA Oceans Institute and School of Plant Biology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    T. J. Langlois

  6. Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia

    E. S. Harvey

  7. Zoology Department, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa

    A. Götz

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  1. E. R. Heyns-Veale
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Heyns-Veale, E.R., Bernard, A.T.F., Richoux, N.B. et al. Depth and habitat determine assemblage structure of South Africa’s warm-temperate reef fish. Mar Biol 163, 158 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-016-2933-8

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