Complexity in physical habitats may modify predation pressure by allowing differential access of predators to prey. Rocky subtidal environments are inherently complex with many cryptic micro habitats, such as overhangs and crevices. Here, we examine the influence of habitat complexity in mediating predation on sessile assemblage structure by experimentally manipulating fish access to a range of crevice orientations and sizes. Nine fish species/families were recorded actively feeding within crevices, but australian mado, eastern stripey, wrasses and sawtail surgeon accounted for almost 70% of all entries. Sessile assemblages were influenced by crevice width, fish predation and surface orientation, with more predation activity in larger crevices. Assemblage similarity on upward facing surfaces decreased as crevice width increased. While assemblage structure on downward and vertical surfaces was influenced by crevice width and caging separately. Thus, crevice size and orientation are important habitat complexity features that act to partition predation pressure. This may allow distinct sessile assemblages to persist, even when predation can be intense.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 6. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 14 March 2018.
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#8,782,238
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#114,516
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Outputs of similar age from Marine Environmental Research
#23
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Altmetric has tracked 32,391,057 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 72nd percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,826 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 7.1. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 64% of its peers.
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