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Fish functional diversity is modulated by small-scale habitat complexity in a temperate ecosystem

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Abstract

Rocky reefs and kelp forests form conspicuous habitats that promote species diversity and support livelihoods in coastal communities. However, taxonomic approaches often disregard biological identity and differences between species. In this study, we explore the relationship between functional diversity of fish communities and habitat complexity in temperate reefs and test if greater habitat complexity, such as rugosity or kelp three-dimensional structure, would result in higher functional diversity. We conducted fish surveys using SCUBA in four kelp forest sites and rocky reef sites. Although the rocky reef and kelp forest sites showed differences in habitat complexity, no significant differences in fish taxonomic or functional diversity were found between the two habitat types. However, we did find differences at smaller spatial scales for the kelp forest sites, where number of stipes, stipe bundle diameter, and kelp density influenced functional richness, but not species richness, highlighting the importance of functional approaches in certain ecosystems. The differences found among kelp forest sites may be linked with small-scale spatiotemporal oceanographic drivers of productivity such as upwelling exposure or nutrient availability. We recommend considering small-scale spatial drivers when aiming to understand how habitat characteristics link with functional diversity.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available in the GitHub repository “FunctionalDiversity_Baja2022”, https://github.com/mpaulasg/FunctionalDiversity_Baja2022.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the many volunteers, boat captains, and divers who helped in the data collection: Diana Higuera Villavicencio, Maite Erauskin Extramiana, Andrés González Belain, and Fernanda Urrutia. A special acknowledgment to Antonio Gómez who helped in the survey design and in the field. We are also thankful to Larry Allen for the illustrations used in Fig. 3. Comments and suggestions from several reviewers helped to improve a previous version. The first author received an M.Sc. scholarship from CONACYT (CVU 476805). This work was partially funded by CICESE (Grant No. 62143).

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Author notes

  1. M. Paula Sgarlatta

    Present address: Centre for Marine Science and Innovation; Ecology and Evolution Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

    M. Paula Sgarlatta

  2. Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Arturo Ramírez-Valdez

  3. Giant Sea Bass Project - Proyecto Mero Gigante, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

    Arturo Ramírez-Valdez

  4. Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California, México

    Arturo Ramírez-Valdez

  5. Department of Biological Oceanography, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

    Lydia B. Ladah

  6. Department of Marine Ecology, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

    Luis E. Calderón-Aguilera

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Contributions

MPS, ARV, LECA, and LBL contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by MPS and ARV. Analyses were performed by MPS and LBL provided input to the final data analysis. LECA obtained funding. The first draft of the manuscript was written by MPS and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Luis E. Calderón-Aguilera.

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Sgarlatta, M.P., Ramírez-Valdez, A., Ladah, L.B. et al. Fish functional diversity is modulated by small-scale habitat complexity in a temperate ecosystem. Hydrobiologia 850, 747–759 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-022-05061-x

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