Abstract

In coral reef ecosystems, numerous habitat types support key life stages of juvenile fishery species and other nekton (mobile fishes, shrimps, crabs, and lobsters). Seagrass beds, mangroves, sand and mud bottoms, algal plains, and coral reefs are connected by hydrodynamics, nekton movements, and other forms of energy flow (Ogden and Gladfelter 1983). Quantitative comparisons of nekton densities in adjoining habitat types are useful for estimating habitat use and supporting delineation of essential fish habitat (EFH). Most comparative studies, however, examine only a few habitat types potential-ly available to nekton (Friedlander and Beets 2008), focus only on SCUBA-depth strata, or use different assessment methods in different habitats that cannot be readily compared.

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