In:
PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science (PLoS), Vol. 16, No. 9 ( 2021-9-20), p. e0257662-
Abstract:
Knowledge of the ecology of the fish fauna associated with kelp (primarily Macrocystis pyrifera ) forests in Southern Patagonia is scarce, especially in how abiotic and biotic variables influence their structure, diversity, and distribution. This information is important for the management and conservation of this unique ecosystem, which has minimal anthropogenic impacts at present. We analyzed data from 122 quantitative underwater transects conducted within kelp forests at 61 stations from Chile’s southern Patagonian fjords to the Cape Horn and Diego Ramirez archipelagos and the southern tip of Argentina, including the Mitre Peninsula and Isla de los Estados. In total, 25 fish species belonging to 13 families were observed. Multivariate analysis indicated that there are significant differences in fish assemblage structure among locations and wave exposures, which was driven primarily by Patagonotothen sima and Paranotothenia magellanica , which occurred on exposed and semi-exposed stations. P . cornucola was mainly distributed across sheltered stations of the Kawésqar National Park. Temperature, salinity, depth, and kelp density influenced fish assemblage structure, with the highest diversity in areas with the lowest temperature and greater depth at Isla de los Estados. In contrast, species richness, diversity, abundance, and biomass were all lower in areas with high density of the understory kelp Lessonia spp., which might be driven by the absence of P . tessellata , P . squamiceps and P . cornucola , the most important species in terms of occurrence, abundance, and biomass. Our study provides the first broad-scale description of the fish assemblages associated with kelp forests along the southern cone of South America based on non-invasive visual transects, improving our knowledge of the distribution of fish assemblages across several environmental conditions in this vast and little-studied area.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1932-6203
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662.g001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662.g002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662.g003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662.g004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662.g005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662.g006
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662.t001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662.t002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662.t003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662.s001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662.s002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662.s003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0257662.s004
Language:
English
Publisher:
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2267670-3
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