Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Comparison of fish assemblages among an artificial reef, a natural reef and a sandy-mud bottom site on the shelf off Iwate, northern Japan

  • Full paper
  • Published:
Environmental Biology of Fishes Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Synopsis

Fish assemblages at an artificial reef site, a natural reef site and a sandy-mud bottom site, on the shelf (depth 130 m) off Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, were surveyed by using a bottom trammel net from May 1987 to March 1993. A total of 12 173 fishes of 48 species were recorded. Physiculus maximowiczi was dominant and comprised 69% of the total numerical abundance. Total fish number was lowest in March at all the 3 sites when P. maximowiczi migrated to deeper and warmer waters. Assemblage equitability and species diversity also varied seasonally in accordance with the abundance fluctuation of P. maximowiczi. P. maximowiczi, Alcichthys alcicornis and Hexagrammos otakii were more abundant at the artificial reef and natural reef sites, while Dexistes rikuzenius and Hemitripterus villosus were more abundant at the sandy-mud bottom site; total fish abundance was largest at the artificial reef site mainly due to the large number of P. maximowiczi. Species richness was similar among sites, but equitability, and consequently species diversity, was lowest at the artificial reef site. The main effect of the artificial reef seemed the attraction of P. maximowiczi from nearby bottoms, especially from natural rocky reefs; its large abundance determined the structure of the artificial reef fish community.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References cited

  • Alevizon, W.S., J.C. Gorham, R. Richardson & S.A. McCarthy. 1985. Use of man-made reefs to concentrate snapper (Lutjanidae) and grunts (Haemulidae) in Bahamian waters. Bull. Mar. Sci. 37: 3–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ambrose, R.F. & S.L. Swarbrick. 1989. Comparison of fish assemblages on artificial and natural reefs off the coast of southern California. Bull. Mar. Sci. 44: 718–733.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayle-Sempere, J.T., A.A. Ramos-Espla & J.A. Garcia Charton. 1994. Intra-annual variability of an artificial reef fish assemblage in the marine reserve of Tabarca (Alicante, Spain, SW Mediterranean). Bull. Mar. Sci. 55: 824–835.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi, G. 1991. Demersal assemblages of the continental shelf and slope edge between the Gulf of Tehuantepec (Mexico) and the Gulf of Papagayo (Costa Rica). Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 73: 121–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi, G. 1992a. Demersal assemblages of the continental shelf and upper slope of Angola. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 81: 101–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi, G. 1992b. Study of the demersal assemblages of the continental shelf and upper slope off Congo and Gabon, based on the trawl surveys of the RV ‘Dr Fridtjof Nansen’. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 85: 9–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaber, S.J.M., D.T. Brewer, J.P. Salini & J. Kerr. 1990. Biomasses, catch rates and abundances of demersal fishes, particularly predators of prawns, in a tropical bay in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. Mar. Biol. 107: 397–408.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohnsack, J.A. 1989. Are high densities of fishes at artificial reefs the result of habitat limitation or behavioral preference? Bull. Mar. Sci. 44: 631–645.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohnsack, J.A. & D.L. Sutherland. 1985. Artificial reef research: a review with recommendations for future priorities. Bull. Mar. Sci. 37: 11–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohnsack, J.A., D.E. Harper, D.B. McClellan & M. Hulsbeck. 1994. Effects of reef size on colonization and assemblage structure of fishes at artificial reefs off southeastern Florida, U.S.A. Bull. Mar. Sci. 55: 796–823.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bombace, G., G. Fabi, L. Fiorentini & S. Speranza. 1994. Analysis of the efficacy of artificial reefs located in five different areas of the Adriatic Sea. Bull. Mar. Sci. 55: 559–580.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burchmore, J.J., D.A. Pollard, J.D. Bell, M.J. Middleton, B.C. Pease & J. Matthews. 1985. An ecological comparison of artificial and natural rocky reef fish communities in Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia. Bull. Mar. Sci. 37: 70–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fabi, G. & L. Fiorentini. 1994. Comparison between an artificial reef and a control site in the Adriatic Sea: analysis of four years of monitoring. Bull. Mar. Sci. 55: 538–558.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fujita, T. 1993. Community ecology of offshore demersal fish assemblages. Benthos Res. 44: 1–17 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Fujita, T., T. Inada & Y. Ishito. 1993. Density, biomass and community structure of demersal fishes off the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan. J. Oceanogr. 49: 211–229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fujita, T., D. Kitagawa, Y. Jin & Y. Okuyama. 1994. Abundance estimation of demersal fishes in the artificial reef area by TV camera census and fishing gear sampling. Fish. Engineering 31: 7–13 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Fujita, T., T. Inada & Y. Ishito. 1995a. Depth-gradient structure of the demersal fish community on the continental shelf and upper slope off Sendai Bay, Japan. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 118: 13–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fujita, T., D. Kitagawa, Y. Okuyama, Y. Ishito, T. Inada & Y. Jin. 1995b. Diets of the demersal fishes on the shelf off Iwate, northern Japan. Mar. Biol. 123: 219–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horikawa, H. 1993. Bathymetric gradient analysis of demersal fish fauna across the continental shelf and slope of Tosa Bay, southwestern Japan. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Tokyo, Tokyo. 226 pp.

  • Horn, H.S. 1966. Measurement of ‘overlap’ in comparative ecological studies. Amer. Nat. 100: 419–424.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inada, T. & M. Murakami. 1993. Fluctuations of walleye pollock and Pacific cod resources and bottom temperature in the waters off the Tohoku region of Japan. Sci. Rep. Hokkaido Fish. Exp. St. 42: 229–240 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanamoto, Z. 1976. On the ecology of hexagrammid fish. 1. Habitats and behaviors of Agrammus agrammus (Temminck et Schlegel) and Hexagrammos otakii (Jordan et Starks), Japan. J. Ecol. 26: 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitagawa, D. 1984. Seasonal change of the fish fauna and its structure around artificial reefs off Iwate. Fish. Engineering 21: 11–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitagawa, D. 1988. Studies on the ecology of the brown hakeling Physiculus maximowiczi (Herzenstein) in the coastal waters of Iwate Prefecture. Doctoral Dissertation. Hokkaido University, Hakodate, 172pp. (in Japanese).

  • Kitagawa, D. 1990. Groundfish community in the coastal waters off Iwate Prefecture. Bull. Tohoku Nat. Fish. Res. Inst. 52: 45–63 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitagawa, D. 1991. The relationship between the artificial reef density and the catch of the brown hakeling in the coastal waters of Iwate Prefecture. Fish. Engineering 27: 13–17 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitagawa, D., Y. Ishito, Y. Okuyama, Y. Sakurai & T. Inada. 1992. Preys discarded by the Japanese common squid, Todarodes pacificus, occurring in the stomachs of brown hakeling, Physiculus maximowiczi. Bull. Tohoku Nat. Fish. Res. Inst. 54: 59–66 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitagawa, D., K. Kuroda & Y. Tsuruta. 1985. Description and distribution of eggs and larvae of the brown hakeling Physiculus maximowiczi in Japanese waters. Bull. Japan. Soc. Sci. Fish. 51: 1627–1630.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitagawa, D. & S. Nagahora. 1983. Estimation of the spawning season of the morid fish Physiculus maximowiczi collected from the coastal water of Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Bull. Japan. Soc. Sci. Fish. 49: 1649–1654.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koya, Y., H. Munehara & K. Takano. 1994. Reproductive cycle and spawning ecology in elkhorn sculpin, Alcichthys alcicornis, Japan. J. Ichthyol. 41: 39–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maeda, T., T. Takahashi. M. Ijichi, H. Hirakawa & M. Ueno. 1976. Ecological studies on the Alaska pollack in the adjacent waters of the Funka Bay, Hokkaido—II spawning season. Bull. Japan. Soc. Sci. Fish. 42: 1213–1222 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Maeda, T., T. Takahashi & M. Ueno. 1983. Behaviour in each life period of adult Alaska pollack in the adjacent waters of Funka Bay, Hokkaido. Bull. Jap. Soc. Sci. Fish. 49: 577–585 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, K.R. 1985. Species similarity and movement of fishes on natural and artificial reefs in Monterey Bay, California. Bull. Mar. Sci. 37: 252–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, R.B., F.A. Parrish & J.J. Polovina. 1989. Community structure, biomass and productivity of deepwater artificial reefs in Hawaii. Bull. Mar. Sci. 44: 616–630.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morisita, M. 1959. Measuring of interspecific association and similarity between communities. Mem. Fac. Sci. Kyushu Univ., Ser. E (Biol.) 3: 65–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ochiai, A. & M. Tanaka, 1986. Ichthyology, New Edition, Vol. 2. Koseisha-Koseikaku, Tokyo. 1140 pp. (in Japanese).

  • Pielou, E.C. 1969. An introduction to mathematical ecology. Wiley-Interscience, New York. 286 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal, R.R. & F.J. Rohlf. 1981. Biometry, 2nd ed. Freeman, New York. 859 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephens, J.S. Jr., P.A. Morris, K. Zerba & M. Love. 1984. Factors affecting fish diversity on a temperate reef: the fish assemblage of Palos Verdes Point, 1974–1981. Env. Biol. Fish. 11: 259–275.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Science Museum, Hyakunin-cho 3-23-1, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 169, Japan

    Toshihiko Fujita

  2. Tohoku National Fisheries Research Institute, Hachinohe, Shimo-mekurakubo 25-259, Same, Hachinohe, 031, Japan

    Daiji Kitagawa & Yoshio Ishito

  3. Iwate Prefectural Government, Uchimaru 10-1, Morioka, 020, Japan

    Yusaku Okuyama

  4. Miyako Regional Development of Bureau of Iwate Prefectural Government, Satsuki 1-20, Miyako, 027, Japan

    Yasutoshi Jin

  5. Japan Sea National Fisheries Research Institute, Suido-cho 1-5939-22, Niigata, 951, Japan

    Tadashi Inada

Authors
  1. Toshihiko Fujita
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Daiji Kitagawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yusaku Okuyama
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yasutoshi Jin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yoshio Ishito
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Tadashi Inada
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fujita, T., Kitagawa, D., Okuyama, Y. et al. Comparison of fish assemblages among an artificial reef, a natural reef and a sandy-mud bottom site on the shelf off Iwate, northern Japan. Environ Biol Fish 46, 351–364 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005013

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005013

Key words

Search

Navigation