Fish nursery value of algae habitats in temperate coastal reefs.

ABSTRACT: The nursery function of coastal habitats is one of the most frequently mentioned and recognized ecosystem services in the valuation of coastal ecosystems. Despite its importance our understanding of the precise habitat parameters and mechanisms that make a habitat important as a nursery area is still limited for many species. The study aimed to establish the importance of different algae morphotypes in providing shelter and food for juvenile coastal fish during the main settlement peaks, in early spring and late summer, in littoral rocky reef systems in the Northwestern Mediterranean. The results of our study showed strong seasonal differences in algae cover, composition and height between the two sampling periods. Overall, during spring the algae were well developed, while in late summer,

SUBMITTER: Hinz H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6525592 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature