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A heat-map highlighting the relative importance (calculated as the sum of the AIC weights/number of models) for each explanatory variable (x-axis) against each of the fish assemblage variables (y-axis). The X label indicates the explanatory variable selected in the most parsimonious model(s) for the given response variable. See Table 1 for the acronyms used for each explanatory variable. Numbers next to acronyms represent the spatial scale. Sqrt and log denote the variable has either been square root or log transformed
Source publication
Context
Whilst the composition and arrangement of habitats within landscape mosaics are known to be important determinants of biodiversity patterns, the influence of seascape patterning and connectivity on temperate reef fish assemblages remains largely unknown.
Objectives
We examined how habitat patterns at multiple spatial scales (100–1000 m) ex...
Citations
... Further investigation is required to determine how predator-prey interactions influence species richness and abundance across meadow sizes. Furthermore, movement patterns and the abundance of estuarine fish are known to be affected by the quality and proximity of edge habitats (Irlandi and Crawford 1997); however, this relationship is most often demonstrated in adjacent or nearby biogenic habitats (e.g., saltmarsh (Irlandi and Crawford 1997;Baillie et al. 2015), mangrove forests (Jelbart et al. 2007a;Skilleter et al. 2017), kelp (Olson et al. 2019), and reefs (Irlandi and Crawford 1997;Swadling et al. 2019)). Less attention has been paid to the role of non-biogenic edge habitats such as rock and cobble fields in terms of their impact on fish assemblages in adjacent eelgrass meadows. ...
... species movement, foraging activities, predator-prey interaction) of the focal eelgrass nursery habitat. Analyzing eelgrass communities in the context of their surrounding habitats is becoming increasingly common (e.g., Olson et al. (2019); Gilby et al. (2018); Whippo et al. (2018); Swadling et al. (2019)) with results producing valuable insights into the ecology of eelgrass meadows and nearshore areas in general. This suggests that eelgrass meadows, including those in CS and BS, do not function in isolation, but rather are functionally connected to the broader mosaic of habitats across the seascape. ...
Eelgrass ( Zostera marina ) meadows are important fish habitats in temperate coastal areas. Understanding the relationships between seascape patterns—the spatial and temporal variability of biological and physiochemical drivers—and fish diversity in eelgrass meadows is crucial to conserving and managing these important habitats. The main objective of this study was to determine the environmental variables that influence the diversity of fish in eelgrass meadows in British Columbia, and whether a rich mosaic of edge habitats is positively associated with species richness and diversity, owing to the increased niche dimensionality and foraging opportunities provided by heterogeneous adjacent habitats. Using a spatiotemporal multispecies model based on long-term eelgrass fish diversity monitoring program data (2004–2020), we found that seascape variables, particularly those derived from unmanned aerial vehicles (meadow area, edge habitat heterogeneity), explained the most variation in species occurrence and abundance. We also found a positive effect of edge habitat heterogeneity on species richness in small and medium-sized meadows, with higher species richness and diversity in small and medium-sized meadows with high edge habitat heterogeneity. The relationship between edge habitat heterogeneity and species richness and diversity in large meadows was less clear. We also found that species richness has declined through time while diversity has been variable through time, remaining relatively stable in one region and generally decreasing in the other region. This analysis provides key insights into how seascape variables influence the distribution of species and the diversity of fish assemblages in nearshore eelgrass habitats in British Columbia.
... This generally positive influence of seagrass coverage on fish abundance was expected, as seagrass is well known as important habitat for many juvenile fish (Heck et al., 2003;Swadling et al., 2019). Here, we assume that fish found at the mangrove sites during high tide are conducting tidal migrations, to or through seagrass patches. ...
Mangroves often support rich fish and crustacean communities, although faunal abundance and diversity show strong spatiotemporal variability. Consistent patterns in mangrove animal communities might be dictated by forest characteristics, by seascape context or by some combination of these factors. Predicting drivers of spatial heterogeneity in mangrove faunal communities can better support the zoning of forests for management purposes, for example by identifying sites important for fisheries nursery provision.
We sampled 14 sites within a large (4000 ha) mangrove forest in Kenya, quarterly over a period of 2 years. There were clear and consistent differences in the quality of sites for fish and crustacean abundance and diversity.
Forest characteristics (as summarised by the complexity index, CI) and seascape metrics (the presence, area and configuration of contiguous seagrass) were strong predictors of site differences. However, they showed opposite influences on dominant members of the fish and crustacean faunas, with CI correlated negatively with fishes and positively with crustaceans, and seagrass area correlated positively with fishes and negatively with crustaceans.
Synthesis and applications . Sites within the same mangrove forest exhibit consistent differences in fish and crustacean abundance. However, the fish and crustacean communities (and particularly dominant species within them) act differently in response to forest and seascape characteristics. Old growth, mature forest, set in a seascape of seagrass patches with bare sediment, was associated with highest crustacean abundance. In contrast, denser smaller trees and seascapes with larger, continuous areas of seagrass correlated better with fish abundance. Zoning for management, as mandated in new Kenyan policy, will need to consider these differences in seascape use between fish and crustaceans.
... This, along with the occurrence of other vulnerable species in the ecotone areas surveyed, typically associated with soft-bottom habitats such as G. galeus, highlights the need to adequately manage these transitional environments, including both reefs-and their adjacent soft-bottom habitats. While for reef fishes with high levels of site attachment the protection of small areas could be effective, the variability in the ecological features of fishes mainly associated with soft-bottom and pelagic habitats may demand larger protected areas and the consideration of landscape issues for monitoring, management and conservation plans (Moore et al., 2011;Rees et al., 2014;Reis-Filho et al., 2019;Swadling et al., 2019). Current findings about ecotone areas contribute to the existing knowledge of the ecological role of different habitats in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean surveyed using BRUVs (e.g., Alves-Bezerra et al., 2022;Reis-Filho et al., 2019;Rolim et al., 2019). ...
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We investigated changes in the structure of coastal fish assemblages in Northern Patagonia, Southwestern Atlantic, by using baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) deployed at increasing distances from rocky reefs: 0–5 m, 15–20 m and 50–60 m. We estimated species richness and abundance (total and by preferred habitat type) and searched for diagnostic species in each distance range. We recorded 14 taxa across 11 families
in 19 areas surveyed. Species richness and abundance were higher on reef ledges and decreased with distance
from them, at a finer spatial scale than previously reported. Acanthistius patachonicus and Sebastes oculatus were indicative of reef ledges; they were less abundant at 15–20 m and disappeared at 50–60 m. Callorinchus callorynchus and Odontesthes spp. occurred only at distances >15–20 m from the reefs, while Galeorhinus galeus was distributed homogeneously throughout the surveyed area. Our findings have practical implications for monitoring ecotone demersal habitats with BRUVS.
... The growth of human populations, overexploitation of natural resources and climate change are modifying ecosystems globally, increasing habitat degradation and unpredictably altering habitat complexity [11][12][13], resulting in impacts on biodiversity [14], Working across six estuaries that include some of the most impacted P. australis meadows in south-eastern Australia, we quantify how habitat complexity (seagrass density, meadow fragmentation and distance to meadow edge) is related to: (1) fish abundance and species composition, (2) mobile epifauna abundance, (3) fish predation rates and (4) erosion rates. As marine fauna and processes can respond to complexity at different spatial scales [56], we used a seascape approach that incorporates variability at different levels including sub-patch (e.g., seagrass shoot scale; e.g., seagrass shoot scale; [57]), withinpatch e.g., distance to meadow edge; [40]) and among-patch (connectivity) or seascape scale [58]. Seascape ecology is a growing field of marine science that brings spatial approaches common in terrestrial landscape ecology into marine ecosystems to help resolve spatial patterns [59,60]. ...
... Individual fish can rely on different habitats, move among them with the tides, time of day and during different stages of their life [29]. The presence of different surrounding habitats may enhance fish abundance and species [58] as they tend to prefer habitats with high diversity and high connectivity [87]. A more detailed interrogation including seascape variables such as distance from natural reefs, mangroves and saltmarshes may contribute to explaining some of the patterns. ...
Habitat complexity plays a critical role in shaping biotic assemblages and ecosystem processes. While the impacts of large differences in habitat complexity are often well understood, we know less about how subtle differences in structure affect key ecosystem functions or properties such as biodiversity and biomass. The late-successional seagrass Posidonia australis creates vital habitat for diverse fauna in temperate Australia. Long-term human impacts have led to the decline of P. australis in some estuaries of eastern Australia, where it is now classified as an endangered ecological community. We examined the influence of P. australis structural complexity at small (seagrass density) and large (meadow fragmentation) spatial scales on fish and epifauna communities, predation and sediment erosion. Fine-scale spatially balanced sampling was evenly distributed across a suite of environmental covariates within six estuaries in eastern Australia using the Generalised Random Tessellation Structures approach. We found reduced erosion in areas with higher P. australis density, greater abundance of fish in more fragmented areas and higher fish richness in vegetated areas further from patch edges. The abundance of epifauna and fish, and fish species richness were higher in areas with lower seagrass density (seagrass density did not correlate with distance to patch edge). These findings can inform seagrass restoration efforts by identifying meadow characteristics that influence ecological functions and processes.
... T A B L E 1 Summary of the fragmentation metrics and anthropogenic disturbance variables. Blank ('-') minimum and maximum values for anthropogenic disturbances indicate that variables were not included in the analyses at the respective scale The fragmentation metrics used in this study were types of spatial pattern metrics, which are routinely applied to quantify changes in the composition and configuration of patches in both landscape (McGarigal, Cushman & Regan, 2005;Schindler et al., 2013) and seascape ecology (Sleeman et al., 2005;Wedding et al., 2011;Swadling et al., 2019). The fragmentation metrics selected (Table 1) were patch density (PD), landscape division (LD), area-weighted mean perimeter to area ratio (AWMPAR) and mean radius of gyration (2016) and Santos et al. (2022), but was adapted to include the number of holes metric as follows: ...
• Although it is well established that human activities are linked to the loss of seagrasses worldwide, the influence of anthropogenic disturbances on the habitat fragmentation of seagrass meadows is less understood. This information is essential to identify how humans are modifying seascapes and what disturbances pose the greatest risk to seagrasses, which is pertinent given the rapid urbanization occurring in coastal areas.
• This study examined how the habitat fragmentation of an endangered seagrass Posidonia australis varied in relation to several anthropogenic disturbances (i.e. human population, marine infrastructure, terrestrial run-off and catchment land-usage) within 10 estuaries across 620 km of coastline in New South Wales, Australia.
• When comparing between estuaries, the fragmentation of P. australis meadows was significantly greater in estuaries adjacent to highly populated metropolitan centres – generally in the Greater Sydney region. At sites within estuaries, the density of boat moorings was the most important predictor of habitat fragmentation, but there was also evidence of higher fragmentation with increased numbers of jetties and oyster aquaculture leases.
• These results suggest that the fragmentation of seagrass meadows will become more pervasive as the human population continues to grow and estuarine development increases. Strategies to mitigate anthropogenic disturbances on seagrass meadow fragmentation could include prohibiting the construction of boat moorings and other artificial structures in areas where seagrasses are present or promoting environmentally friendly designs for marine infrastructure. This knowledge will support ongoing management actions attempting to balance coastal development and the conservation of seagrasses.
... The first groups were indicated by the reefs that had mangroves within a 1000-3000m radius from the center of the station. The distance between sites and the presence of mangroves were taken into account in the reef fish home range (Swadling et al. 2019). According to this criteria, there are eight stations located near mangrove habitats and six stations with an absence of mangroves ( Figure 1). ...
Utama RS, Renyaan J, Nurdiansah D, Makatipu PC, Suyadi, Hapsari BW, Martha E, Rahayu EMD, Sugiharto A. Akbar N. 2022. Diversity of reef fish species in presence of mangrove habitat in Ternate, North Maluku, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 5184-5193. Research on reef fish has been widely reported, where information about reef fish communities is an important factor for evaluating fisheries management and coral reef management. Mangroves as the nursery, foraging, and growing areas were also important to assure sustainable reef fish fisheries. This paper studies reef fish abundance and diversity in Ternate Waters in the presence of mangrove in coral reef habitats. To determines coral reef condition underwater photo transect was performed while an underwater visual census (UVC) was used to determine the abundance and diversity of reef fishes in Ternate waters between 2017 and 2018. A total of 14 stations were used, with eight stations near the mangroves and six stations that did not contain mangroves. Based on the observation, fish species richness in mangrove absence was higher than in the presence of mangroves, with 68 and 65 species in 2017 and 66 and 62 species in 2018. However, the abundance of reef fish was recorded high in the presence of mangroves than in the absence of mangroves, with 390 and 289 individual differences in 2017 and 2018. Mangroves' complexity affected part of reef fish communities in Ternate water, particularly Lutjanidae, Serranidae, and Scaridae, which might influence the abundance of reef fishes rather than the species richness. In addition, carnivore shows a negative effect in the presence of mangroves, in contrast with herbivores. It is related to mangrove functioning as a temporary shelter when high-pressure presence in their natural habitat (reef) and a place for foraging. Therefore, mangrove management must be a consideration in the coral reef or fisheries management program.
... One possible explanation for this result is the tendency towards more frequent movements between adjacent eelgrass and reef habitats. Swadling et al. (2019) found greater fish density and diversity on temperate reefs near seagrass beds, and Obaza et al. (2015) noted higher piscine predator abundance in nighttime surveys of eelgrass beds. Therefore, fishes found in eelgrass beds further from reef habitats may not travel to nearby reef areas. ...
Eelgrasses Zostera are foundation species that perform myriad ecosystem services, yet research into their habitat function is often focused on regions susceptible to intense anthropogenic disturbance. This trend has created a data gap on the role more remote eelgrass beds provide among the mosaic of other temperate marine habitats. In this study, we surveyed 15 Z. marina and Z. pacifica beds along Catalina Island and the Southern California Bight (SCB) mainland coast from 2018 to 2020 for areal coverage, structural components and fish assemblages, from which a relativized index of fish utilization was then created. We then evaluated the landscape and structural components that potentially drive fish utilization in Z. marina using the index as a response variable in a model selection procedure. Zostera beds ranged in size from 0.06 ha to >27.5 ha. Fish assemblages in Z. marina and Z. pacifica beds were significantly different, and in the case of fishes found in both, individuals were often below size at maturity in Z. marina and above size in Z. pacifica. Distance to the nearest reef and bed area, both positively related to the fish assemblage index, were the most important factors. The results suggest Z. marina beds function as a nursery habitat while Z. pacifica are used by mid-level predators for foraging. These data represent the first rigorous study of fish utilization of open-coast Z. marina and Z. pacifica beds, and are invaluable to marine spatial planning efforts that may incorporate a more holistic approach to habitat management in temperate regions.
... Ikan menjadi salah satu biota laut yang membutuhkan mangrove, terumbu karang, dan lamun untuk kelangsungan hidupnya. Ketiga ekosistem tersebut memiliki pengaruh terhadap persebaran ikan dan proses ekologi yang terjadi di dalamnya yang membuat adanya konektivitas antara ekosistem pesisir dengan ikan itu sendiri (Ricart et al., 2018;Swadling et al., 2019). Konektivitas tersebut dapat terjadi saat ikan melakukan mobilisasi ke sekitar ekosistem mangrove dan terumbu karang untuk mencari makan (Mumby, 2006). ...
... Radius tersebut juga dipilih berdasarkan home range dari komunitas ikan yang ditemukan. Berdasarkan penelitian oleh Swadling et al. (2019) dan Ulumuddin et al. (2021) Setelah membuat dataset kemudian dilakukan analisis korelasi untuk memeriksa korelasi antara kedua matriks tersebut. Hasil korelasi yang dijalankan pada software RStudio menghasilkan tabel korelasi yang memuat koefisien korelasi tiap matriks. ...
Ikan karang selama hidupnya dapat mendiami satu habitat saja atau melakukan migrasi ke ekosistem di sekitarnya. Faktor tersebut membuat terjadinya interaksi antara ikan karang dengan ekosistem mangrove dan terumbu karang. Pendekatan bentang laut (seascape ecology) masih belum banyak dilakukan mengingat pendekatan ini penting untuk mengetahui kelimpahan ikan yang berada di sekitar area terumbu karang, sehingga dapat dijadikan sebagai pedoman dalam pengelolaan kawasan pesisir. Oleh karena itu penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui struktur bentang laut (seascape), interaksinya dengan ikan karang, dan menilai tingkat konektivitas dari keduanya di Raja Ampat dan Maluku Tenggara. Metode penelitian yang digunakan yaitu pengolahan dan analisis data spasial dan statistika menggunakan software QGIS 3.14 dan RStudio versi 2.0.4. Hasil penelitian dari analisis data statistika menggunakan analisis korelasi dan regresi diperoleh bahwa kelimpahan Ikan Lutjanidae pada Pulau Kei Kecil, Maluku Tenggara memiliki konektivitas dengan nilai regresi tertinggi yang dijelaskan oleh metrik Distance to Mangrove (DistM) dengan nilai koefisien korelasi sebesar -0,88; R2 0,7777; dan nilai AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) 18,01. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, kesimpulan yang diperoleh adalah matriks Distance to Mangrove (DistM) menjadi matriks yang memiliki hubungan erat dengan Ikan Lutjanidae yang dapat mempengaruhi kelimpahan Ikan Lutjanidae di lokasi penelitian. Reef fish, during their lifetime, can inhabit only one habitat or migrate to the surrounding ecosystem. These factors make the interaction between reef fish with mangrove ecosystems and coral reefs. However, the seascape ecology approach is still not widely used, considering that it is important to determine the abundance of fish around coral reef areas, so that it can be used as a guideline in the management of coastal areas. Therefore, this study aims to determine the structure of the seascape, its interaction with reef fish, and assess the level of connectivity of both in Raja Ampat and Southeast Maluku. The research method used is the processing and analysis of spatial and statistical data using software QGIS 3.14 and RStudio 2.0.4. The results of statistical data analysis using correlation and regression analysis showed that the abundance of Lutjanidae on Kei Kecil Island, Southeast Maluku had connectivity with the highest regression value described by the Distance to Mangrove (DistM) metric and has a correlation coefficient value of -0.88; R2 0.7777; and the AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) score of 18,01112. Based on the results of the study, the conclusion obtained is that the Distance to Mangrove (DistM) metric is a metric that has a close relationship with Lutjanidae fish which can affect the abundance of Lutjanidae fish in the research location.
... (2) Build a water body model: ere are two ways to create a water body model: one is to use the parametric modeling tool Unity3D water body to set relevant parameters (including water energy, ripple, reflection) according to the direction, drop and other related conditions, etc.) to complete Modeling of the river water system; First, when the dynamic effect of the water system is not high, the texture of the water body can be simulated with 3DMax [37,38]. e method is simple, the amount of data is small, and it can meet the general conditions. ...
Traditional villages refer to the villages that formed earlier, are rich in traditional resources, and have various values and must be protected. This paper aims to study how to draw three-dimensional landscapes of traditional villages based on the big data information system. This paper puts forward the problem of 3D landscape rendering, which is based on big data and modeling, and then elaborates around the concept of data mining and related algorithms and designs and systematically tests 3D landscape rendering. The experimental results show that when the number of rendered patches is less than 120193 between 120193 and 242029, the system can run smoothly. It can achieve acceptable and relatively smooth operation; when it exceeds 242029, the system is obviously stuck. The design scheme of the three-dimensional landscape geographic information system of the traditional villages is reasonable and feasible, the operation is stable, and the expected research goals are achieved.
... During the past several decades, many landscape ecological research topics have emerged, including landscape pattern analysis and evaluations of land use and land cover influences on biodiversity, population, and ecosystem processes (Wu 2013). Landscape ecology has established that the composition (number and area) and spatial configuration of habitats within landscape mosaics (i.e., landscape structure) can profoundly affect patterns of biodiversity and ecological processes in both terrestrial (Forman and Godron 1986;Turner 2005;Wu 2006) and marine ecosystems (van Lier et al. 2018;Swadling et al. 2019). Although these concepts have been well documented for a range of terrestrial and marine taxa (Turner 2005), the influence of landscape structure on riverine species is less understood. ...
ContextUntangling relationships between landscape patterns shaped by human stressors and related response of fish communities is important for identifying biodiversity patterns and conservation targets, yet in large rivers this knowledge is extremely limited.Objectives
Our study focuses on how human stressors within a riparian landscape zone, including both riparian land use and in-channel stressors, explained the fish community structure in a large river.Methods
We studied fish community patterns along the upstream-downstream gradient of the Yangtze River, China. The curve estimation was used to test correlations between fish metrics and the distance from the estuary. We linked human stressors to fish metrics by multivariate generalized linear models.ResultsWe collected a total of 63 freshwater fish species from 6,147 specimens. Limnophilic species had the highest richness, represented by 30 specie. The predominant riparian land uses in the studied reaches were cropland (65.3% ± 13.1%) and urban land (19.7% ± 13.6%). There were strong negative correlations between riparian land use (e.g., urban land) and in-channel stressors (e.g., shoreline modification, navigation, and fishing pressure) and fish assemblages, especially limnophilic fish abundance, biomass, and richness.Conclusions
These results demonstrate influences of both riparian land use and in-channel stressors on fish communities, and highlight the use of landscape descriptors as a valuable approach to assess linkages between human pressures and fish diversity in large river systems. Management recommendations include: establishing or rehabilitating riparian buffers, improving commercial navigation management, implementing shoreline protection measures, and reinforcing fishing laws and regulations.
