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Horizontal gradient in fish assemblage structures in and around a seagrass habitat: some implications for seagrass habitat conservation

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Abstract

Horizontal gradients in fish assemblage structures in and around a seagrass habitat were evaluated by visual observations. The assemblage structures clearly differed between open microhabitats lacking seagrass, i.e., nearby sand and the area adjoining the outer margin of the seagrass bed (referred to as “outer gap”), and microhabitats with seagrass within the overall seagrass bed, although not differing among the latter microhabitats, including both edge and core portions. Such open microhabitats were found to be not always inferior, but nearly equal to or even sometimes greatly superior in fish species’ diversity and/or abundance to the microhabitats with seagrass. In particular, the outer gap was always ranked first in total species’ number and had outstanding abundance in spring. Similar open microhabitats adjoining seagrass walls facing the sand patch within the seagrass bed (referred to as “inner gap”) in spring were also characterized by higher fish species and individual numbers. The 11 most abundant fishes showed four discrete distribution patterns (three recognized herein and one implied by precedent studies), such contributing to a horizontal gradient in the fish assemblage structure. While no fishes showed a preference for the edge or core of the seagrass bed, group-forming juveniles of several species favored gap microhabitats, suggesting that, in addition to the traditionally recognized edge and core microhabitats, the concept of gap microhabitats should be included in seagrass conservation ecology.

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Acknowledgments

I am grateful to Masaaki Morisawa (University of Tokyo), Koji Akasaka (University of Tokyo), Minoru Sekimoto (University of Tokyo), Mamoru Sekifuji (University of Tokyo), Natsuko Sugii (University of Tokyo), and staff of the Misaki Marine Biological Station, University of Tokyo, for their general assistance in field work. I also thank the Moroiso Fishermen’s Union for their kind permission to dive in the study area. Constructive comments on the manuscript from Graham Hardy (Whangarei, New Zealand), Mitsuhiko Sano (University of Tokyo) and anonymous referees were much appreciated. This paper was supported by the Mikimoto Fund for Marine Ecology and Grants-in-aid for Young Scientists (B) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (no. 15780134).

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  1. Research Center for Coastal Lagoon Environments, Shimane University, 1060 Nishikawatsucho, Matsue, Shimane, 690-8504, Japan

    Masahiro Horinouchi

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  1. Masahiro Horinouchi
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Correspondence to Masahiro Horinouchi.

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Horinouchi, M. Horizontal gradient in fish assemblage structures in and around a seagrass habitat: some implications for seagrass habitat conservation. Ichthyol Res 56, 109–125 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-008-0070-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-008-0070-1

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