Journal
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE
Volume 218, Issue -, Pages 9-22Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecss.2018.11.020
Keywords
Habitat complexity; Biodiversity; Soft bottoms; Heterogeneity; Canary islands
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Funding
- Excellence International Campus of the Canary Islands (CEI-Canarias)
- Agency for Research, Innovation and Information Society of the Canary Islands
- EcoAqua European project (ERA CHAIR program) [621341]
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High complexity habitat traits (i.e. high heterogeneity and/or size of discrete habitat units) often promote larger abundances of fauna. Sandy and rhodolith sea bottoms are typically interspersed as mosaics within coastal landscapes. The aim of this study was to experimentally assess the effect of two complexity attributes of rhodolith nodules (i.e. their heterogeneity and size) on the abundance and structure of vagile epibenthic assemblages. An early-colonization experiment was set up (July 2016), where experimental units containing rhodolith nodules of varying heterogeneity and size were deployed at two adjacent recipient habitats: a sandy bottom and a rhodolith seabed. After one month, the abundance of fauna colonizing the experimental units was similar in both habitats, but the assemblage structure (i.e. composition) notably differed. Importantly, the heterogeneity, rather than the size, of experimental rhodolith nodules influenced patterns of vagile macrofauna (> 0.5 mm) colonization, despite the habitat type where these experimental units were deployed considerably influenced colonization patterns. This result reinforces the idea of the importance of rhodolith tri-dimensional structure, as key influencer on faunal communities of nearshore habitats.
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