Habitat use patterns of fishes across the mangrove-seagrass-coral reef seascape at Ishigaki Island, southern Japan

Abstract

To clarify seascape-scale habitat use patterns of fishes in the Ryukyu Islands (southern Japan), visual censuses were conducted in the mangrove estuary, sand area, seagrass bed, coral rubble area, branching coral area on the reef flat, and tabular coral area on the outer reef slope at Ishigaki Island in August and November 2004, and May, August and November 2005. During the study period a total of 319 species were observed. Species richness and abundance were highest in the branching and tabular coral areas, followed in order by the seagrass bed and mangrove estuary, and coral rubble and sand areas, in each month. Cluster analysis resulted in a clear grouping of assemblage structures by habitat type rather than by census month. SIMPER analysis showed that fish assemblages in the tabular coral area were mainly characterized by Acanthurus nigrofuscus, Pomacentrus lepidogenys, P. philippinus and P. vaiuli, the branching coral area by Chromis viridis and Pomacentrus moluccensis, the coral rubble area by Amblyeleotris steinitzi and Ctenogobiops pomastictus, the seagrass bed by Cheilio inermis, Lethrinus atkinsoni and Stethojulis strigiventer, the sand area by Valenciennea longipinnis, and the mangrove estuary by Gerres oyena, Lutjanus fulvus and Yongeichthys criniger. Moreover, fishes exhibited two habitat use strategies, inhabiting either a single or several specific habitats throughout their benthic life history stages, or having a possible ontogenetic habitat shift from the mangrove estuary or seagrass bed to coral-dominated habitats (e.g., Lethrinus atkinsoni, Lethrinus obsoletus, Lutjanus fulviflamma, Lutjanus fulvus, Lutjanus gibbus, Lutjanus monostigma and Parupeneus barberinus), suggesting that the mangrove estuary and seagrass bed have a nursery function.