Habitat use and ontogenetic shifts of fish life stages at rocky reefs in South-western Mediterranean Sea

Propagule dispersal and larval patch cohesiveness in a Mediterranean coastal fish

“…Specimens were sampled in shallow water habitats (i.e. <2m of depth) characterized by shadowed overhangs and steep rocks, as these are considered to be the main habitat requirements of O. melanura early post-settlers (Bussotti & Guidetti 2011, Félix-Hackradt et al 2014 for evidence from our study area). All the specimens were firstly euthanized, by immersing them in a sea water solution with few drops of 96% alcohol for minimizing their suffering (Leary et al 2013) and, after cessation of opercular movements, preserved in 70% ethanol.…”

“…In this study we investigated geochemical signatures in the otoliths of early life stages of the saddled sea bream Obalda melanura (Linnaeus, 1758) (Perciformes: Sparidae) in order to obtain information on its propagule dispersal characteristics in the south-western Mediterranean Sea. This Fish propagule dispersal and patch cohesiveness fish was chosen as a model species as it is widely distributed and generally abundant in Mediterranean coastal ecosystems (Bauchot & Hureau 1986, García-Charton et al 2004 and for its relatively high commercial value for artisanal and recreational fisheries (Harmelin-Vivien et al 1995, Lloret et al 2008, Félix-Hackradt et al 2014. Specifically, considering early post-settlers and late stage larvae of O. melanura, we investigated: (1) the number of potential natal sources replenishing our study area; (2) propagule dispersal distances and (3) the cohesiveness of larval patches during the last phase of the larval life.…”

Habitat influence in the morphological diversity of coastal fish assemblages

“…The circulation of water masses and currents, temperature, oxygen concentration and productivity have been considered factors influencing the structure of fish assemblages at large scale (García-Charton and Pérez-Ruzafa, 2001;Guidetti, 2000;La Mesa et al, 2010;Letourneur et al, 2001). Whereas, other variables such as the type of bottom (Demestre et al, 2000;Félix-Hackradt et al, 2014;Macpherson, 1994), depth (Gaertner et al, 1999(Gaertner et al, , 2005Menezes et al, 2006;Mérigot et al, 2007), habitat complexity (Gratwicke and Speight, 2005;Kovalenko et al, 2012;McCormick, 1994) or the influence of terrestrial inputs in special zones such as estuaries and coastal lagoons (Akin et al, 2005;Franco et al, 2006;Maci and Basset, 2009) are contemplated also as key factors structuring biological communities but affecting at smaller scales.…”

The paradox of the Hauraki Gulf snapper population: Testing the nursery habitat concept

“…Specifically, (a) that in the off reef habitats where we conducted our observations, many juvenile fish species responded to structure in general rather than to the type of structure (Heck et al, ) and (b) that the juvenile fish species we observed predominantly occupied non‐reef habitats, whereas the reef habitats we observed were predominantly occupied by adult fish (Grol, Nagelkerken, Rypel, & Layman, ; Kimirei et al, ; Nagelkerken, Dorenbosch, Verberk, Cocheret de la Morinière, & Velde, ). It is important to note, however, that habitat occupancy and ontogeny patterns are often species specific and in other systems many species of juvenile fish do predominantly occupy rocky reef habitats (Félix‐Hackradt, Hackradt, Treviño‐Otón, Pérez‐Ruzafaa, & García‐Charton, ).…”