Abstract
Artificial habitat deployment can restore natural habitats or supplement existing natural habitats. The effect of resource proliferation and protection is obvious. However, few reports have addressed the biological community association between artificial habitats and adjacent environments. Here, Illumina sequencing of 18S rDNA was performed, and the diversity, community structure, and co-occurrence networks of protists in different layers of artificial reefs (ARs) and adjacent seawater (WAR) were described to verify that constructing ARs in Bailong Pearl Bay improves local spatial heterogeneity and functional diversity. In terms of the degree of species interaction, the protist communities were ranked as follows: surface and bottom of WAR > ARs and WAR > different layers of ARs. The α-diversity of protists associated with ARs and WAR decreased with an increase in depth. Protist diversity was greater in WAR than in ARs. β-Diversity analysis revealed significant differences in protist community structure between WAR and ARs (P < 0.05), and the upper layers of ARs and the middle or bottom layers of ARs differed. The key topological features of protist networks showed more positive interspecific interactions in the AR-associated protist community, a higher degree of niche differentiation, and higher complexity and stability. The keystone protists in the bottom seawater layer displayed community functions that were biased toward initial fixation in the ocean carbon cycle. The AR-associated protist community tended to participate in carbon transfer in the food chain and decomposition and utilization of dissolved organic matter (DOM). This study revealed significant differences in protist community structure between ARs and the adjacent environment, and the ecological functions of the key phyla were found to be related. In conclusion, protist communities in WAR may provide food sources for AR-associated heterotrophic protists. A variety of key phyla associated with ARs have biological roles in the carbon pump via their ecological characteristics.
Highlights
Affected by factors such as environmental pollution, habitat degradation, overfishing and climate change, global marine fishery resources have declined significantly
The number of operational taxonomic unit (OTU) in WAR was 366, of which the number of unique OTUs was 221, accounting for 57.65%, indicating that 40% of the OTUs in the WAR could be detected on the artificial reefs (ARs)
To analyze the spatial changes in the composition of the protist community, we investigated the relative abundance of AR-associated protists and protists in the WAR (Figure 5)
Summary
Affected by factors such as environmental pollution, habitat degradation, overfishing and climate change, global marine fishery resources have declined significantly. To alleviate the degradation of marine habitats, artificial habitats have been deployed to restore lost natural habitats or to supplement existing natural habitats (Lemoine et al, 2019). Fish-aggregating devices (FADs) are deployed at the surface or various levels in the water column and may be composed of automobile tires, natural wood or synthetic mesh that is suspended in the water column. Different from FADs, artificial reefs (ARs) are artificial habitats that have been scientifically selected and placed on the seabed. They simulate rock or natural coral reefs by adding complex topography to flat and featureless ocean bottoms. According to the selected materials, ARs can be divided into concrete reefs, stone reefs, tire reefs, steel reefs, plastic reefs, wooden bamboo reefs, scrap cars and ship reefs (Sheng, 2012)
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