Mangroves Enhance Reef Fish Abundance at the Caribbean Regional Scale.

ABSTRACT: Several studies conducted at the scale of islands, or small sections of continental coastlines, have suggested that mangrove habitats serve to enhance fish abundances on coral reefs, mainly by providing nursery grounds for several ontogenetically-migrating species. However, evidence of such enhancement at a regional scale has not been reported, and recently, some researchers have questioned the mangrove-reef subsidy effect. In the present study, using two different regression approaches, we pursued two questions related to mangrove-reef connectivity at the Caribbean regional scale: (1) Are reef fish abundances limited by mangrove forest area?; and (2) Are mean reef fish abundances proportional to mangrove forest area after taking human population density and latitude into account? Specific

SUBMITTER: Serafy JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4633132 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature