Seagrass <i>Posidonia</i> escarpments support high diversity and biomass of rocky reef fishes

Distribution of coral reef fishes along a coral reef–seagrass gradient: edge effects and habitat segregation

Coral reefs and seagrass beds are often located adjacent to one another, but little is known about the degree to which their fish communities are interlinked. To determine whether coral reef fishes on the coral reef are interlinked with or segregated from fishes on adjacent seagrass beds, a 60 m coral reef–seagrass gradient was studied on the island of Zanzibar in the western Indian Ocean. Usin...

Seagrass Meadows Provide 3D Habitat for Reef Fish

For large fishes, seagrass canopies typically provide a relatively flat habitat on seabeds, but seagrasses in the genus Posidonia can provide additional habitat complexity by forming organic-rich deposits known as mats. Erosional processes can scour channels through the mats, resulting in the formation of escarpments with caves. Here we report that reef fishes, such as groupers, inhabit the cav...

Distribution of Fishes in Seagrass Meadows: Role of Macrophyte Biomass and Species Compositioni

Large spatial variation was found in the abundance and species composition of ichthyofauna in seagrass meadows of Apalachee Bay and Indian River lagoon, Florida. Abundance of fishes was a direct function of aboveground seagrass biomass in Apalachee Bay where seagrass meadows were dominated by turtlegrass, 7Iwla""ia I".<ludinum, but the relationship did not hold across monospecific beds of T. t"...

Effects of a shark repulsion device on rocky reef fishes : no shocking outcomes

Location and Associated Carbon Storage of Erosional Escarpments of Seagrass Posidonia Mats

Seagrasses of the genus Posidonia can form an irregular seascape due to erosional processes exposing thick walls of organic matter-rich soils. However, little is known about the location and characteristics of these particular formations. Here we provide comprehensive estimates of organic carbon (Corg) storage in Posidonia oceanica and Posidonia australismeadows, while providing insight into th...