Abstract
I tested the hypothesis that patch structure influences patterns of recruitment and post-recruitment loss of seagrass fish. Sampling in North Carolina seagrass bed of varying patch structure revealed (1) greater abundance of fishes and higher species richness in continuous versus patchy beds, (2) a non-linear response to seagrass biomass at large scales, (3) a greater effect of increasing percent cover in patchy versus continuous beds. Experiments using 12 M2 artificial plots indicated that habitat use by fishes increased with increased patch size, regardless of patch structure. Increasing shoot density and leaves per shoot had little effect on habitat use by fishes, regardless of patch structure. These results suggest that more traditional ways of evaluating the effects of seagrass structure (i.e. shoot density, shoot height, leaves per shoot) may not completely explain processes of recruitment and community structure in seagrass beds at this spatial scale. These data indicate that attributes of seagrass beds evident at large scales such as patch size, patch structure, and how these factors interact influence the importance of small-scale habitat on recruitment and community structure of seagrass fishes.
Wojcik, Patricia Lavonne (1998). Recruitment and community structure of fishes in seagrass beds of varying patch structure. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1998 -THESIS -W45.