Influence of offshore breakwaters on fish assemblage structure in the surf zone of a sandy beach in Tokyo Bay, central Japan

Abstract

To determine the effects of shore-parallel offshore breakwaters on the surf-zone fish assemblage structure of a sandy beach, three study sites (sheltered inshore of breakwater, between adjacent breakwaters, and exposed without breakwaters) were sampled at Ohnuki Beach in Tokyo Bay, central Japan, in September and December 2009 and March and June 2010. Although some physical variables (wave height, turbidity, and water depth) differed among the three sites, no differences were apparent among the sites in the numbers of fish species and individuals, or in the abundance of epibenthic invertebrates (a main fish prey). In addition, species and individual numbers of two dominant feeding groups (mysid and copepod feeders) showed no significant among-site differences. Cluster and ordination analyses confirmed the similarity in fish species composition among the three sites. Furthermore, the mean standard length of all fishes collected throughout the study period did not differ significantly among the sites, the overall results indicating that the presence of breakwaters had little effect on surf-zone fish assemblage structure in the study area, despite some breakwater-related differences in the abiotic environment.