Multi-scale patterns in the structure of fish and fouling communities associated with seaweeds in marinas

Abstract

Redistribution of biodiversity represents a key challenge for understanding scales of spatial variation in natural marine communities. With increasing coastal urbanization, artificial structures are proliferating, with impacts on natural habitats, yet we have limited knowledge on the spatial scales of processes operating over their associated species assembly. This is exemplified by novel communities establishing along and around floating infrastructures, such as pontoons in marinas. In this study, we explored multi-scale patterns in the diversity and community structure of fouling seaweeds, invertebrates and fish communities associated with pontoons in 18 marinas, distributed along ∼1000 km of coastline in NW France. With respect to the distribution of marinas across 3 distinct ecoregions, we predicted that their seaweed communities would follow spatial patterns reported in native communities from rocky shores. This hypothesis was poorly supported, and the variation among ecoregions (8%) was largely explained by the abundance of nonindigenous kelps. However, as anticipated, we observed important variability among and within marinas in all response variables (e.g. richness of sessile invertebrates and fish). These variations were related to contrasting sea surface temperature regimes among marinas, along with a number of explanatory variables (e.g. distance to marina entry). As also hypothesized, fouling and fish communities covaried with kelp biomass, although covariations were strengthened at the scale of the region and at the scale of the marina and pontoon when nonindigenous and native kelp were considered, respectively. Specificities in distributions and influences of foundation species in urban environments could be worth scrutinizing to inform their management.