Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-03T13:57:10.385Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Occurrence and Activity of Mobile Macrofauna on a Sublittoral Reef: Diel and Seasonal Variation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

L.A. Nickell  and
M.D.J. Sayer
L.A. Nickell
Affiliation:
Centre for Coastal and Marine Sciences, Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, PO Box 3, Oban, Argyll, PA34 4AD
M.D.J. Sayer
Affiliation:
Centre for Coastal and Marine Sciences, Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, PO Box 3, Oban, Argyll, PA34 4AD
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Underwater television observations were made of mobile macrofauna inhabiting two parts of a sublittoral reef on the west coast of Scotland for 48 h periods in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Continuous occurrence profiles (mean hourly frequency of occurrence, %) were detailed for 12 species of fish (Chirolophis ascanii, Conger conger, Ctenolabrus rupestris, Lepadogaster candollei, Myoxocephalus scorpius, Pholis gunnellus, Pollachius pollachius, Raniceps raninus, Phrynorhombus regius, Zeugopterus punctatus, Thorogobius ephippiatus and Trisopterus minutus), ten crustacean species (Cancer pagurus, Carcinus maenas, Galathea strigosa, Homarus gammarus, Inachus spp., Munida rugosa, Necora puber, Brachyuran sp., Caridean sp. and Pagurid sp.) and four echinoderm species (Antedon bifida, Asterias rubens, Hemicia oculata and Solaster endeca). Rhythmic patterns of diel activity and/or occurrence were identified for several species. Chirolophis ascanii, Ctenolabrus rupestris, L. candollei, Myoxocephalus scorpius, Pholis gunnellus, Pollachius pollachius, Thorogobius ephippiatus, Trisopterus minutus and Munida rugosa were predominantly diurnal, but Ctenolabrus rupestris, Myoxocephalus scorpius and Trisopterus minutus also showed some evidence of crepuscular activity. Raniceps raninus activity was predominantly nocturnal but became continuous in summer. In other species (the topknots Phrynorhombus regius and Z. punctatus and the crustaceans Cancer pagurus and Homarus gammarus) identifiable occurrence patterns changed with season or site. The greatest number of fish species occurred in winter with Myoxocephalus scorpius, Pollachius pollachius and topknots (Phrynorhombus regius and Z. punctatus) showing greater occurrence/activity during spring and winter. Co-occurrence analysis was used to identify species interactions or avoidances.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 78 , Issue 4 , November 1998 , pp. 1061 - 1082
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Albert, T.O., 1993. Distribution, population structure and diet of silvery pout (Gadiculus argenteus thori J. Schmidt), poor cod (Trisopterus minutus minutus (L.)), four-bearded rockling (Rhinonemus cimbrius (L.)), and Vahl's eelpout (Lycodes vahlii gracilis Reinhardt) in the Norwegian Deep. Sarsia, 78, 141–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruggemann, J.H., Kuyper, M.W.M. & Breeman, A.M., 1994. Comparative analysis of foraging and habitat use by the sympatric Caribbean parrotfish Scarus vetula and Sparisoma viride (Scaridae). Marine Ecology Progress Series, 112, 51–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burrows, M.T., Gibson, R.N., Robb, L. & Comely, C.A., 1994. Temporal patterns of movement in juvenile flatfishes and their predators: underwater television observations. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 177, 251–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carr, M.H., 1991. Habitat selection and recruitment of an assemblage of temperate zone reef fishes. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 146, 113–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cau, A. & Manconi, P., 1984. Relationship of feeding, reproductive cycle and bathymetric distribution in Conger conger. Marine Biology, 81, 147–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chapman, C.J. & Atkinson, R.J.A., 1986. Fish behaviour in relation to divers. Progress in Underwater Science, 11, 1–14.Google Scholar
Collins, K.J., Jensen, A.C. & Mallinson, J.J., 1996. Observations of wrasse on an artificial reef. In Wrasse: biology and use in aquaculture (ed. M.D.J., Sayer et al.), pp. 47–54. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.Google Scholar
Costello, M.J., 1992. Abundance and spatial overlap of gobies (Gobiidae) in Lough Hyne, Ireland. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 33, 239–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curio, E., 1976. The ethology of predation. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dare, P.J. & Edwards, D.B., 1981. Underwater television observations of the intertidal movements of shore crabs, Carcinus maenas, across a mudflat. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 61, 107–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Grave, S. & Turner, J.R., 1997. Activity rhythms of the squat lobsters, Galathea squamifera and G. strigosa (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) in south-west Ireland. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 77, 273–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frazer, N.H.C., Metcalfe, N.B. & Thorpe, J.E., 1993. Temperature dependent switch between diurnal and nocturnal foraging in salmon. Proceedings of the Royal Society, 252, 135–139.Google Scholar
Gibson, R.N. & Ezzi, I.A., 1987. Feeding relationships of a demersal fish assemblage on the west coast of Scotland. Journal of Fish Biology, 31, 55–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gordon, J.D.M., 1981. The fish populations of the west of Scotland shelf. Part II. Oceanography and Marine Biology. Annual Review, 19, 405–441.Google Scholar
Heggenes, J., Krog, O.M.W., Lind's, O.R., Dokk, J.G. & Bremnes, T., 1993. Homeostatic behavioural responses in a changing environment: brown trout (Saltno trutta) become nocturnal during winter. Journal of Animal Ecology, 62, 295–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hillden, N.-O., 1981. Territoriality and reproductive behaviour in the goldsinny Ctenolabrus rupestris L. Behavioural Processes, 6, 207–221.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holmes, R.A. & Gibson, R.N., 1983. A comparison of predatory behaviour in flatfish. Animal Behaviour, 31, 1244–1255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joint Nature Conservation Committee, 1993. Summary of data from the coastal resources database. Joint Nature Conservation Committee Coastal Conservation Branch Information Note, no. 7/93, 8 pp.Google Scholar
Jones, G.P., 1984. The influence of habitat and behavioural interactions on the local distribution of the wrasse, Pseudolabrus celidotus. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 10, 43–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, G.P., 1988. Ecology of rocky reef fish of north-eastern New Zealand: a review. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 22, 445–462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karnofsky, E.B., Atema, J. & Elgin, R.H., 1989. Field observations of social behavior, shelter use, and foraging in the lobster, Homarus americanus. Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, 176, 239–246.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kotrschal, K., 1983. Northern Adriatic rocky reef fishes at low winter temperatures. Pubblicazioni della Stazione Zoological di Napoli, 4, 275–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Main, K.L., 1987. Predator avoidance in seagrass meadows: prey behavior, microhabitat selection, and cryptic coloration. Ecology, 68, 170–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Methven, D.A. & Bajdik, C., 1994. Temporal variation in size and abundance of juvenile cod (Gadus morhua) at an inshore site off eastern Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 51, 78–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, P.J., 1969. Systematics and biology of the leopard-spotted goby, Gobius ephippiatus (Teleostei: Gobiidae), with description of a new genus and notes on the identity of G. macrolepis Kolombatovic. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 49, 831–855.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salvanes, A.G.V. & Nordeide, J.T., 1993. Dominating sublittoral fish species in a west Norwegian fjord and their trophic links to cod (Gadus morhua L.). Sarsia, 78, 221–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarno, B., Glass, C.W. & Smith, G.W., 1994. Differences in diet and behaviour of symparric saithe and pollack in a Scottish sea loch. Journal of Fish Biology, 45, supplement A, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sayer, M.D.J., Cameron, K.S. & Wilkinson, G., 1994. Fish species found in the rocky sublittoral during winter months as revealed by the underwater application of the anaesthetic quinaldine. Journal of Fish Biology, 44, 351–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sayer, M.D.J. & Davenport, J., 1996. Hypometabolism in torpid goldsinny subjected to rapid reductions in seawater temperature. Journal of Fish Biology, 49, 64—5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sayer, M.D.J., Gibson, R.N. & Atkinson, R.J.A., 1993. Distribution and density of populations of goldsinny wrasse (Ctenolabrus rupestris) on the west coast of Scotland. Journal of Fish Biology, 43, supplement A, 157–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sjölander, S., Larson, H.O. & Engstrom, J., 1972. On the reproductive behaviour of two labrid fishes, the ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) and Jago's goldsinny (Ctenolabrus rupestris). Revue Comporte Animale, 6, 43–51.Google Scholar
Tupper, M. & Boutilier, R.G., 1995. Size and priority at settlement determine growth and competitive success of newly settled Atlantic cod. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 118, 295–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, J.R. & Warman, C.G., 1991. The mobile fauna of sublittoral cliffs. In The ecology of Lough Hyne (ed. A.A., Myers et al.), pp. 127–138. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy.Google Scholar
Wahle, R.A. & Steneck, R.S., 1992. Habitat restrictions in early benthic life: experiments on habitat selection and in situ predation with the American lobster. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 157, 91–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wheeler, A., 1969. The fishes of the British Isles and northwest Europe. London: Macmillan Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Wilkins, H.K.A. & Myers, A.A., 1993. Shelter utilization by Gobius cruentatus and Thorogobius ephippiatus (Teleostei: Gobiidae). Journal of Fish Biology, 43, 763–773.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilkins, H.K.A. & Myers, A.A., 1995. Use of space by Gobius cruentatus and Thorogobius ephippiatus (Teleostei: Gobiidae) in south-west Ireland. Marine Biology, 124, 27–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, J.P.F., 1981. A note on the biology of the Cornish clingfish Lepadogaster lepadogaster (Bonnaterre). Irish Naturalist Journal, 20, 209–210.Google Scholar