Coastal fish assemblages and predation pressure in northern-central Chilean Lessonia trabeculata kelp forests and barren grounds.

ABSTRACT: Kelp forests are declining in many parts of the globe, which can lead to the spreading of barren grounds. Increased abundances of grazers, mainly due to reduction of their predators, are among the causes of this development. Here, we compared the species richness (SR), frequency of occurrence (FO), and maximum abundance (MaxN) of predatory fish and their predation pressure between kelp forest and barren ground habitats of northern-central Chile. Sampling was done using baited underwater cameras with vertical and horizontal orientation. Two prey organisms were used as tethered baits, the black sea urchin Tetrapygus niger and the porcelanid crab Petrolisthes laevigatus. SR did not show major differences between habitats, while FO and MaxN were higher on barren grounds in vertic

SUBMITTER: Riquelme-Perez N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6571002 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature