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Diversity
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Ecology and Biodiversity of Coastal Marine Fisheries Species and Their...
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Ecology and Biodiversity of Coastal Marine Fisheries Species and Their Habitats

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 December 2021) | Viewed by 12505

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Mark S. Peterson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Ocean Science and Engineering, Division of Coastal Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Ocean Springs, MS, USA
Interests: nekton (fish and decapods) resource ecology
Dr. Michael J. Andres

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Ocean Science and Engineering, Division of Coastal Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Ocean Springs, MS, USA
Interests: evolution of trematodes and their corresponding hosts, utilizing trophically transmitted parasites as 'indicators' in marine ecosystems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Habitat loss and destruction coupled with sea-level rise modify coastal marine habitat templates and the fisheries species that use them. Coastal habitats (taken broadly) support the highest biodiversity of marine fisheries species and contain important habitat features used by ecologically and economically important fisheries species for nurseries and feeding grounds. Thus, maintaining coastal habitat quality/quantity and a diversity of habitat types are vital to directly and indirectly influencing fish sustainability and biodiversity worldwide. The loss/alteration of these habitats go hand-in-hand with biodiversity and gaining a better understanding of the ecologies of these systems is crucial.

This Special Issue aims to highlight new research and significant advances in our understanding of links between coastal habitat quality/quantity/diversity and the fisheries species that use them. This topic is quite diverse owing to the myriad of habitat types found in coastal marine waters and the variety of life history strategies fish use in these habitats. We also recognize that researchers can address questions related to ecology and biodiversity using a variety of techniques and encourage interdisciplinary submissions.

Prof. Dr. Mark S. Peterson
Dr. Michael J. Andres
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • salt marsh
  • mangrove
  • oyster reef
  • seagrass
  • estuary
  • community ecology
  • trophic ecology

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 2400 KiB  
Article
Underwater Video as a Tool to Quantify Fish Density in Complex Coastal Habitats
by Ronald Baker, Dakota Bilbrey, Aaron Bland, Frank D’Alonzo III, Hannah Ehrmann, Sharon Havard, Zoe Porter, Sarah Ramsden and Alexandra R. Rodriguez
Diversity 2022, 14(1), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14010050 - 13 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2231
Abstract
Habitat loss is a serious issue threatening biodiversity across the planet, including coastal habitats that support important fish populations. Many coastal areas have been extensively modified by the construction of infrastructure such as ports, seawalls, docks, and armored shorelines. In addition, habitat restoration [...] Read more.
Habitat loss is a serious issue threatening biodiversity across the planet, including coastal habitats that support important fish populations. Many coastal areas have been extensively modified by the construction of infrastructure such as ports, seawalls, docks, and armored shorelines. In addition, habitat restoration and enhancement projects often include constructed breakwaters or reefs. Such infrastructure may have incidental or intended habitat values for fish, yet their physical complexity makes quantitatively sampling these habitats with traditional gears challenging. We used a fleet of unbaited underwater video cameras to quantify fish communities across a variety of constructed and natural habitats in Perdido and Pensacola Bays in the central northern Gulf of Mexico. Between 2019 and 2021, we collected almost 350 replicate 10 min point census videos from rock jetty, seawall, commercial, public, and private docks, artificial reef, restored oyster reef, seagrass, and shallow sandy habitats. We extracted standard metrics of Frequency of Occurrence and MaxN, as well as more recently developed MeanCount for each taxon observed. Using a simple method to measure the visibility range at each sampling site, we calculated the area of the field of view to convert MeanCount to density estimates. Our data revealed abundant fish assemblages on constructed habitats, dominated by important fisheries species, including grey snapper Lutjanus griseus and sheepshead Archosargus probatocephalus. Our analyses suggest that density estimates may be obtained for larger fisheries species under suitable conditions. Although video is limited in more turbid estuarine areas, where conditions allow, it offers a tool to quantify fish communities in structurally complex habitats inaccessible to other quantitative gears. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biodiversity of Coastal Marine Fisheries Species and Their Habitats)
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21 pages, 2239 KiB  
Article
Factors Influencing Colonization and Survival of Juvenile Blue Crabs Callinectes sapidus in Southeastern U.S. Tidal Creeks
by Paul J. Rudershausen, Jeffery H. Merrell and Jeffrey A. Buckel
Diversity 2021, 13(10), 491; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13100491 - 07 Oct 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1784
Abstract
Tidal creeks along the southeastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico coastlines provide nursery habitats for commercially and ecologically important nekton, including juvenile blue crabs Callinectes sapidus, a valuable and heavily landed seafood species. Instream and watershed urbanization may influence the habitat value [...] Read more.
Tidal creeks along the southeastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico coastlines provide nursery habitats for commercially and ecologically important nekton, including juvenile blue crabs Callinectes sapidus, a valuable and heavily landed seafood species. Instream and watershed urbanization may influence the habitat value that tidal creeks provide to blue crabs. We investigated natural and anthropogenic factors influencing juvenile blue crab occupancy dynamics in eight first-order tidal creeks in coastal North Carolina (USA). An auto-logistic hierarchical multi-season (dynamic) occupancy model with separate ecological and observation sub-models was fitted to juvenile blue crab presence/absence data collected over replicate sampling visits in multiple seasons at three fixed trapping sites in each creek. Colonization and survival are the processes operating on occupancy that are estimated with this formulation of the model. Covariates considered in the ecological sub-model included watershed imperviousness, the percent of salt marsh in each creek’s high tide area, percent salt marsh edge, site-level water depth, and site-level salinity. Temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen were covariates considered in the observation sub-model. In the ecological sub-model, watershed imperviousness was a meaningful negative covariate and site-level salinity was a positive covariate of survival probability. Imperviousness and salinity were each marginally meaningful on colonization probability. Water temperature was a positive covariate of detection probability in the observation sub-model. Mean estimated detection probability across all sites and seasons of the study was 0.186. The results suggest that development in tidal creek watersheds will impact occupancy dynamics of juvenile blue crabs. This places an emphasis on minimizing losses of natural land cover classes in tidal creek watersheds to reduce the negative impacts to populations of this important species. Future research should explore the relationship between imperviousness and salinity fluctuations in tidal creeks to better understand how changing land cover influences water chemistry and ultimately the demographics of juvenile blue crabs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biodiversity of Coastal Marine Fisheries Species and Their Habitats)
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14 pages, 1301 KiB  
Article
Spatial Dynamics of Two Host-Parasite Relationships on Intertidal Oyster Reefs
by Marc H. Hanke, Martin H. Posey and Troy D. Alphin
Diversity 2021, 13(6), 260; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13060260 - 10 Jun 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1926
Abstract
Intertidal reefs comprised of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) have long experienced habitat loss, altering habitat patch characteristics of size and distance from edge to interior, potentially influencing spatial dynamics of host-parasite relationships. Using two parasitic relationships, one between eastern oyster [...] Read more.
Intertidal reefs comprised of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) have long experienced habitat loss, altering habitat patch characteristics of size and distance from edge to interior, potentially influencing spatial dynamics of host-parasite relationships. Using two parasitic relationships, one between eastern oyster host and parasitic oyster pea crab (Zaops ostreum) and the other between a xanthid crab (Eurypanopeus depressus) and a parasitic rhizocephalan barnacle (Loxothylacus panopaei), we examined how host-parasite population characteristics varied on intertidal reefs by season, reef size, and distance from edge to interior. Pea crab prevalence was more related to habitat characteristics rather than host density, as pea crab prevalence was the highest on large reefs and along edges, areas of comparatively lower oyster densities. Reef size did not influence densities of parasitized or non-parasitized xanthid crabs, but densities varied from edge to interior. Non-parasitized xanthids had significantly lower densities along the reef edge compared to more interior reef locations, while parasitized xanthid crabs had no significant edge to interior pattern. Organismal size had a varied relationship based upon habitat characteristics, as pea crab carapace width (CW) varied interactively with season and reef size, whereas CW of parasitized/non-parasitized xanthid crabs varied significantly between edge and interior locations. These results demonstrated that influential habitat characteristics, such as patch size and edge versus interior, are both highly species and host-parasite specific. Therefore, continued habitat alteration and fragmentation of critical marine habitats may further impact spatial dynamics of host-parasite relationships. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biodiversity of Coastal Marine Fisheries Species and Their Habitats)
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14 pages, 1710 KiB  
Article
Linking Habitat and Associated Abiotic Conditions to Predict Fish Hotspots Distribution Areas within La Paz Bay: Evaluating Marine Conservation Areas
by Francisco Javier Urcádiz-Cázares, Víctor Hugo Cruz-Escalona, Mark S. Peterson, Rosalía Aguilar-Medrano, Emigdio Marín-Enríquez, Sergio Scarry González-Peláez, Arturo Del Pino-Machado, Arturo Bell Enríquez-García, José Manuel Borges-Souza and Alfredo Ortega-Rubio
Diversity 2021, 13(5), 212; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13050212 - 17 May 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2908
Abstract
Hotspots are priority marine or terrestrial areas with high biodiversity where delineation is essential for conservation, but equally important is their linkage to the environmental policies of the overall region. In this study, fish diversity presences were linked to abiotic conditions and different [...] Read more.
Hotspots are priority marine or terrestrial areas with high biodiversity where delineation is essential for conservation, but equally important is their linkage to the environmental policies of the overall region. In this study, fish diversity presences were linked to abiotic conditions and different habitat types to reveal multi-species and hotspots models predicted by ecological niche modelling methods within the Bay of La Paz, Mexico (south of Gulf of California). The abiotically suitable areas for 217 fish species were identified based on historical (1975–2020) presence data sets and a set of environmental layers related to distances from mangroves and rocky shores habitats, marine substrate, and bottom geomorphology conditions. Hotspot model distribution was delineated from a multi-species model identifying areas with ≥60 species per hectare and was compared to the marine conservation areas such Balandra Protected Natural Area (BPNA), illustrating how these models can be applied to improve the local regulatory framework. The results indicate that (1) there is a need for the BPNA to be enlarged to capture more of the delineated hotspot areas, and thus an update to the management plan will be required, (2) new conservation areas either adjacent or outside of the established BPNA should be established, or (3) Ramsar sites or other priority areas should be subject to legal recognition and a management plan decreed so that these vital habitats and fish diversity can be better protected. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biodiversity of Coastal Marine Fisheries Species and Their Habitats)
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Review

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9 pages, 250 KiB  
Review
Progress on Research Regarding Ecology and Biodiversity of Coastal Fisheries and Nektonic Species and Their Habitats within Coastal Landscapes
by Mark S. Peterson and Michael J. Andres
Diversity 2021, 13(4), 168; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13040168 - 15 Apr 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2669
Abstract
This paper aims to highlight the new research and significant advances in our understanding of links between coastal habitat quality/quantity/diversity and the diversity of fisheries species and other mobile aquatic species (hereafter nekton) that use them within coastal landscapes. This topic is quite [...] Read more.
This paper aims to highlight the new research and significant advances in our understanding of links between coastal habitat quality/quantity/diversity and the diversity of fisheries species and other mobile aquatic species (hereafter nekton) that use them within coastal landscapes. This topic is quite diverse owing to the myriad of habitat types found in coastal marine waters and the variety of life history strategies fisheries species and nekton use in these environments. Thus, we focus our review on five selective but relevant topics, habitat templates, essential fish habitat, habitat mosaics/habitat connectivity, transitory/ephemeral habitat, and the emerging/maturing approaches to the study of fish-habitat systems as a roadmap to its development. We have highlighted selected important contributions in the progress made on each topic to better identify and quantify landscape scale interactions between living biota and structured habitats set within a dynamic landscape. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biodiversity of Coastal Marine Fisheries Species and Their Habitats)
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