Epibenthic fish communities on Florida Bay banks: relations with physical parameters and seagrass cover

Abstract

Epibenthic fish communities residing in seagrass beds on shallow mudbanks in Florida Bay, USA, were quantitatively sampled with a throw trap method. The overall average density of 11 fish/m super(2) was substantially higher than most previously reported densities for seagrass habitats. Four sites, representing 4 different subenvironments of Florida Bay, differed widely in species composition and densities of individual species; results of discriminant function analysis indicated that fish communities at the 4 sites were relatively distinct. Species composition at different sites is proposed to be a result of complex interactions between the deterministic influence of habitat quality and the stochastic influence of larval availability. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the standing crop of seagrasses and the accumulation of vegetation litter were important determinants of fish densities; physical factors, such as depth and sediment structure, were also influential.