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A comparison of the fish assemblages on natural and artificial reefs off Sal Island (Cape Verde)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 September 2012

Miguel N. Santos ,
Miguel T. Oliveira  and
João Cúrdia
Miguel N. Santos*
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional dos Recursos Biológicos (INRB, I.P./L-IPIMAR), Avenida 5 de Outubro s/n, 8700-305 Olhão, Portugal
Miguel T. Oliveira
Affiliation:
Oceanário de Lisboa S.A., Esplanada D. Carlos I, 1990-005 Lisboa, Portugal Universidade do Algarve, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
João Cúrdia
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional dos Recursos Biológicos (INRB, I.P./L-IPIMAR), Avenida 5 de Outubro s/n, 8700-305 Olhão, Portugal Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) & Departamento de Biologia, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810–193 Aveiro, Portugal
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: M.N. Santos, Instituto Nacional dos Recursos Biológicos (INRB, I.P./L-IPIMAR), Avenida 5 de Outubro s/n, 8700-305 Olhão, Portugal email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Tourism is a growing activity in Cape Verde, which can lead to more intensive and uncontrolled fishing and diving activities, affecting the quality of marine habitats. To mitigate this biodiversity problem, a private diving operator, supported by the local authorities, decided to deploy the first artificial reefs (ARs) in the Archipelago just off Santa Maria Bay (Sal Island). To evaluate the ARs capacity to promote marine fish biodiversity in Santa Maria Bay, the fish assemblages were compared to those from nearby natural reefs (NRs), located at the same depth (10 and 28 m depth), by means of visual census. All study sites were surveyed by visual census in August 2009. A total of 64 species were recorded, mostly consisting of sedentary and/or benthophagous demersal species, followed by highly-sedentary benthic cryptic species. ‘Tchuklassa’ NR showed the highest species richness (58 species), while the lowest was recorded at ‘Santo Antão’ AR (48 species). An overall positive relationship was observed between habitat rugosity and mean species richness. The results showed a high percentage of common species on both reef types. Higher mean values of community descriptors (number of species, Shannon–Weaver diversity index, Simpson dominance index and equitability) and fish density were found on the ARs, with slightly higher densities recorded on the deeper reefs. These results suggest that ARs can have an important role promoting the local fish biodiversity and supporting local sustainable development of diving tourism.

Keywords

natural and artificial reefsfish assemblageshabitat complexitydiving tourismSanta Maria BaySal Island (Cape Verde)
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 93 , Special Issue 2: Fish and Fisheries , March 2013 , pp. 437 - 452
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012

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