The relationship between fish abundance and benthic community structure on artificial reefs in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, and the importance of sea whip corals Leptogorgia virgulata
Autogenic engineers (i.e., biogenic structure) add to habitat complexity by altering the environment by their own physical structures. The presence of autogenic engineers is correlated with increases in species abundance and biodiversity. Biogenic structural communities off the coast of Delaware, Ma...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2019-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/7277.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797419632045326336 |
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| author | Cara C. Schweitzer Bradley G. Stevens |
| author_facet | Cara C. Schweitzer Bradley G. Stevens |
| author_sort | Cara C. Schweitzer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Autogenic engineers (i.e., biogenic structure) add to habitat complexity by altering the environment by their own physical structures. The presence of autogenic engineers is correlated with increases in species abundance and biodiversity. Biogenic structural communities off the coast of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia (Delmarva) are comprised of multiple species including boring sponge Cliona celata, various hydroids (i.e., Tubularia sp., Obelia sp., Campanular sp.), northern stone coral Astrangia poculata, sea whips Leptogorgia virgulata, and blue mussels Mytilus edulis. Sea whips are soft corals that provide the majority of vertical height to benthic structure off the coast of the Delmarva peninsula. The mid-Atlantic bight is inhabited by several economically valuable fishes; however, data regarding habitat composition, habitat quality, and fish abundance are scarce. We collected quadrat and sea whip images from 12 artificial reef sites (i.e., shipwrecks) ranging from 10 to 24 m depth to determine proportional coverage of biogenic structures and to assess habitat health, respectively. Underwater video surveys were used to estimate fish abundances on the 12 study sites and determine if fish abundance was related to biogenic coverage and habitat health. Our results showed that higher fish abundance was significantly correlated with higher proportional sea whip coral coverage, but showed no significant relationship to other biogenic structure. Assessment of sea whip condition (as a damage index) showed that sea whip corals on artificial reefs off the Delmarva coast exhibited minor signs of degradation that did not differ significantly among study sites. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:51:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5b5a0364444f45df89844145e2cb9f1c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:51:05Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
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| spelling | doaj.art-5b5a0364444f45df89844145e2cb9f1c2023-12-03T10:27:22ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592019-07-017e727710.7717/peerj.7277The relationship between fish abundance and benthic community structure on artificial reefs in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, and the importance of sea whip corals Leptogorgia virgulataCara C. Schweitzer0Bradley G. Stevens1Department of Natural Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD, United States of AmericaDepartment of Natural Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD, United States of AmericaAutogenic engineers (i.e., biogenic structure) add to habitat complexity by altering the environment by their own physical structures. The presence of autogenic engineers is correlated with increases in species abundance and biodiversity. Biogenic structural communities off the coast of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia (Delmarva) are comprised of multiple species including boring sponge Cliona celata, various hydroids (i.e., Tubularia sp., Obelia sp., Campanular sp.), northern stone coral Astrangia poculata, sea whips Leptogorgia virgulata, and blue mussels Mytilus edulis. Sea whips are soft corals that provide the majority of vertical height to benthic structure off the coast of the Delmarva peninsula. The mid-Atlantic bight is inhabited by several economically valuable fishes; however, data regarding habitat composition, habitat quality, and fish abundance are scarce. We collected quadrat and sea whip images from 12 artificial reef sites (i.e., shipwrecks) ranging from 10 to 24 m depth to determine proportional coverage of biogenic structures and to assess habitat health, respectively. Underwater video surveys were used to estimate fish abundances on the 12 study sites and determine if fish abundance was related to biogenic coverage and habitat health. Our results showed that higher fish abundance was significantly correlated with higher proportional sea whip coral coverage, but showed no significant relationship to other biogenic structure. Assessment of sea whip condition (as a damage index) showed that sea whip corals on artificial reefs off the Delmarva coast exhibited minor signs of degradation that did not differ significantly among study sites.https://peerj.com/articles/7277.pdfSea whipBlack sea bassBiogenic structureMid-atlantic bightCoralFish abundance |
| spellingShingle | Cara C. Schweitzer Bradley G. Stevens The relationship between fish abundance and benthic community structure on artificial reefs in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, and the importance of sea whip corals Leptogorgia virgulata PeerJ Sea whip Black sea bass Biogenic structure Mid-atlantic bight Coral Fish abundance |
| title | The relationship between fish abundance and benthic community structure on artificial reefs in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, and the importance of sea whip corals Leptogorgia virgulata |
| title_full | The relationship between fish abundance and benthic community structure on artificial reefs in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, and the importance of sea whip corals Leptogorgia virgulata |
| title_fullStr | The relationship between fish abundance and benthic community structure on artificial reefs in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, and the importance of sea whip corals Leptogorgia virgulata |
| title_full_unstemmed | The relationship between fish abundance and benthic community structure on artificial reefs in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, and the importance of sea whip corals Leptogorgia virgulata |
| title_short | The relationship between fish abundance and benthic community structure on artificial reefs in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, and the importance of sea whip corals Leptogorgia virgulata |
| title_sort | relationship between fish abundance and benthic community structure on artificial reefs in the mid atlantic bight and the importance of sea whip corals leptogorgia virgulata |
| topic | Sea whip Black sea bass Biogenic structure Mid-atlantic bight Coral Fish abundance |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/7277.pdf |
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