Acta Adriatica, Vol. 50 No. 2, 2009.
Original scientific paper
Nest characteristics of three labrid species in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea)
Lovrens LIPEJ
; Marine Biology Station, National Institut of Biology, 6630 Piran, Slovenia
Martina ORLANDO-BONACA
; Marine Biology Station, National Institut of Biology, 6630 Piran, Slovenia
Barbara OZEBEK
; Mošnje 18 d, 4240 Radovljica, Slovenia
Jakov DULČIĆ
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, P.O.Box 500, 21 000 Split, Croatia
Abstract
Temperate Labrid species are nest builders with nests usually made out of plant material or detritus.During the summer of 2004, 131 nests of three wrasses (Symphodus roissali, S. ocellatus and S.cinereus) were studied by SCUBA diving in the Slovenian coastal sea (northern Adriatic) in orderto compare nest parameters and microhabitat preferences among the species. For the descriptionof the structure of each nest, algal species, benthic invertebrates and type of substrata within thenest were determined, as well as the features of each microhabitat. A Redundancy Analysis (RDA)was performed in order to highlight the distribution of the three species in relation to environmentalvariables and their preferences for different biotic and abiotic variables in the construction of nests.Labrid species were found to be more abundant on rocky bottoms, where the Cystoseiretum barbataeassociation is dominant. It seems that the studied species show a preference for some microhabitats,although are building their nests using the most abundant algal material in the environment. OnlyS. ocellatus seems to select shrub-forming algae as the main nest-forming material.
Keywords
Labridae; construction of nests; microhabitat preferences; Gulf of Trieste; Adriatic
Hrčak ID:
45921
URI
Publication date:
1.12.2009.
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