Patterns in diversity and species composition in soft-sediment tidepool fishes across topographical types: Implications for conservation with spatial nuances

Abstract

Fish communities inhabiting soft-sediment areas are representative conservation targets for coastal habitats, but how the ecological function of soft-sediment tidepools drives diversity is still unknown. To tackle this issue, the ecological functions of soft-sediment tidepools for fishes according to topographic types (open and closed habitats) on Okinawa-jima Island, located in subtropical Japan, were examined in diversity, species composition, and lifestyle (resident and transient species). Landward tidepools serve as permanent habitat for specialists, whereas seaward tidepools are more important for transient species as temporal habitats, which shaped the inverse trend in α- and β-diversity between topographic types, depending on the habitat heterogeneity and the biological characteristics of resident and transient species. We propose a strategy for the conservation and management of topographically distinct intertidal habitats, basically as a single set, while also considering the ecological functions with spatial nuances at smaller scales within coastal landscapes.