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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on December 21, 2006
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2007 64(2):271-287; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsl031
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© 2006 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Eastern English Channel fish assemblages: measuring the structuring effect of habitats on distinct sub-communities

S. Vaz, A. Carpentier and F. Coppin

IFREMER, Laboratoire Ressources Halieutiques, 150 quai Gambetta, BP699, 62321 Boulogne-sur-Mer, France

Correspondence to S. Vaz: tel: +33 321 995600; fax: +33 321 995601; e-mail: svaz{at}ifremer.fr

Vaz, S., Carpentier, A., and Coppin, F. 2007. Eastern English Channel fish assemblages: measuring the structuring effect of habitats on distinct sub-communities – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 271–287.

Multivariate and spatial analyses are used to identify and locate fish, cephalopod, and macrocrustacean species assemblages in the eastern English Channel from 1988 to 2004. Four sub-communities with varying diversity levels were identified in relation to depth, salinity, temperature, seabed shear stress, sediment type, and benthic community nature. From 1997 to 2004, some 25% of overall community structure variance could be related to the available environmental descriptors and 20% to persistent factors such as depth, seabed shear stress, sediment, and macro-invertebrate community type. Although there may be significant interannual shifts in overall community structure and composition, the sub-communities identified persisted over time, reflecting the relative stability of the environmental conditions in this area. The diversity levels of the community appeared to have increased over the past 2 decades and to be higher in areas with soft sediments and wide temperature and salinity variations, typically coastal river plumes and estuaries where bentho-demersal species dominated. The strong spatial structure of the fish communities in the eastern English Channel reflects the different types of habitats shared by differing species assemblages. Such persistence may be useful for spatially explicit planning of human use and resource management.

Keywords: diversity, eastern English Channel, fish community, spatial patterns, structuring environment

Received 21 December 2005; accepted 9 November 2006; advance access publication 21 December 2006.


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