Caught between a rock and a hard place: Fish predation interacts with crevice width and orientation to explain sessile assemblage structure

Effect of Desalination Discharge on the Abundance and Diversity of Reef Fishes

“…For example, the number of mado ( A. strigatus ), a very abundant small fish known to respond to disturbances, increased by 164% near the outlets following discharging and had the second largest contribution to dissimilarity in fish assemblages between the outlet and reference sites. The selection of habitat for reef-resident zooplanktivorous fish that may also eat benthic invertebrates, such as one-spot puller ( C. hypsilepis ) and mado, is often a trade-off between refuge and prey availability. , However, it is not clear how desalination discharge could influence local densities of zooplankton or whether the refuge provided by the simple outlet risers was much of an advantage over natural reefs. An investigation of food availability (e.g., zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, and small fish) and water quality (e.g., nutrient loads) near to and away from the desalination discharge outlet may implicate or rule out important explanations for the local enhancement of fish assemblages associated with disposal of hypersaline solution from desalination plants.…”

“…For example, the number of mado (A. strigatus), a very abundant small fish known to respond to disturbances, 38 increased by 164% near the outlets following discharging and had the second largest contribution to dissimilarity in fish assemblages between the outlet and reference sites. The selection of habitat for reef-resident zooplanktivorous fish that may also eat benthic invertebrates, such as one-spot puller (C. hypsilepis) and mado, 39 is often a trade-off between refuge and prey availability. 40,41 However, it is not clear how desalination discharge could influence local densities of zooplankton or whether the refuge provided by the simple outlet risers was much of an advantage over natural reefs.…”

Biology and Ecology of the Globally Significant Kelp Ecklonia radiata

“…Smale et al 2011) and can often be found on the vertical surfaces of coastal infrastructure, such as pier-pilings and seawalls (Marzinelli 2012. No studies have looked at the importance of microtopography, such as cracks and crevices, although such features likely increase the settlement and attachment strength of gametophytes and provide a refuge from predators (Franco et al 2015, Bolton et al 2018.…”