Role of physical disturbance in structuring fish assemblages in seagrass beds in Port Phillip Bay, Australia

Abstract

Disturbance in seagrass habitats may cause variation in the structure of fish assemblages and individual taxa. One important form of disturbance is wave action associated with strong winds. Total fish abundance and species richness from seagrass beds at 2 sites in Port Phillip Bay, Australia, were sampled during low and high wave disturbance. During high wave action (>0.25 m) in seagrass beds, abundance of fish at one site decreased significantly, but species richness was unaffected at both sites. Plankton sampling conducted at the same time as seagrass sampling (directly 300 m offshore from the seagrass sites) found that species richness significantly increased during high wave conditions a..