TITLE:
Relationship between the tropical seagrass bed characteristics and the structure of the associated fish community
AUTHORS:
Rohani Ambo-Rappe, Muhammad Natsir Nessa, Husain Latuconsina, Dmitry L. Lajus
KEYWORDS:
Fish; Tropical Seagrass; Structural Complexity; Enclosed Bay; Fisheries Management
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.3 No.5,
August
13,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Structural complexity of seagrass
bed including species composition and shoot density is argued to be an
important factor determining fish assemblages. However statistical verification
of such a relationship is possible only in areas with high species richness of
seagrass and fish assemblages which is observed in tropical waters. Material
for this study was collected in three seagrass beds with different structure in
Inner Ambon Bay, Eastern Indonesia. This study provided evidence that higher
structural complexity of seagrass bed was related to the higher richness,
abundance, and biomass of fish. However, lower structural complexity of
seagrass patch should not be underestimated because it provided different habitat for
various stages of life in fish. Smaller fish preferred to occupy dense seagrass of
dominant pioneer small-sized species (Halodule
uninervis) and moved to the lesser dense bed of climax large-sized seagrass
(Thalassia hemprichii and Enhalus acoroides) with increasing their
size. This finding is important for seagrass-fisheries management.