The Impact of Mangrove Prop-Root Epibionts on Juvenile Reef Fishes: A Field Experiment Using Artificial Roots and Epifauna |
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Authors: | James A MacDonald Terry Glover Judith S Weis |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, 195 University Ave, Newark, NJ 07102, USA;(2) Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, 14 College Farm Road, Cook Campus, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA;(3) Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Bloomfield College, Bloomfield, NJ 07003, USA |
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Abstract: | A field experiment was established in Bocas Del Toro, Panama to examine the relationship between sessile organisms living
on mangrove prop roots and fish communities. Artificial mangrove roots (AMR) with different sets of artificial (AE) or real
epibionts were established in five different locations in two separate years. Fish species in each plot were identified, counted,
and their size estimated by visual census for 15 days in each replicate. In the artificial mangrove plots, the treatments
with the most heterogeneous structure had significantly greater abundance of most families and species richness of fish in
both years of the experiment. AMR plots with AEs attracted a more abundant and diverse fish assemblage than those with live
epibionts, which had lower three-dimensional structure. All of the AMR plots had significantly greater fish abundance than
comparable plots of sea grass alone. The location of the replicate also made a significant difference to fish abundance. The
data indicate that prop-root epibionts can enhance fish abundance and diversity in mangroves, although the relationship may
depend on the specific nature of the epibionts and fishes present. |
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