Journal article
The importance of regional, system-wide and local spatial scales in structuring temperate estuarine fish communities
Estuaries and Coasts, Vol.37(3), pp.525-547
2014
Abstract
An extensive literature base worldwide demonstrates how spatial differences in estuarine fish assemblages are related to those in the environment at (bio)regional, estuary-wide or local (within-estuary) scales. Few studies, however, have examined all three scales, and those including more than one have often focused at the level of individual environmental variables rather than scales as a whole. This study has identified those spatial scales of environmental differences, across regional, estuary-wide and local levels, that are most important in structuring ichthyofaunal composition throughout south-western Australian estuaries. It is the first to adopt this approach for temperate microtidal waters. To achieve this, we have employed a novel approach to the BIOENV routine in PRIMER v6 and a modified global BEST test in an alpha version of PRIMER v7. A combination of all three scales best matched the pattern of ichthyofaunal differences across the study area (ρ = 0.59; P = 0.001), with estuary-wide and regional scales accounting for about twice the variability of local scales. A shade plot analysis showed these broader-scale ichthyofaunal differences were driven by a greater diversity of marine and estuarine species in the permanently-open west coast estuaries and higher numbers of several small estuarine species in the periodically-open south coast estuaries. When interaction effects were explored, strong but contrasting influences of local environmental scales were revealed within each region and estuary type. A quantitative decision tree for predicting the fish fauna at any nearshore estuarine site in south-western Australia has also been produced. The estuarine management implications of the above findings are highlighted.
Details
- Title
- The importance of regional, system-wide and local spatial scales in structuring temperate estuarine fish communities
- Authors/Creators
- F.J. Valesini (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityJ.R. Tweedley (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityK.R. Clarke (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityI.C. Potter (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
- Publication Details
- Estuaries and Coasts, Vol.37(3), pp.525-547
- Publisher
- Springer
- Identifiers
- 991005540166607891
- Copyright
- © Coastal and Estuarine Research Foundation 2013
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.2 Marine Biology
- 3.2.1182 Coastal Vegetation
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- Plant & Animal Science