engleski

How habitat modifications driven by continuous embankment along the Adriatic coast shift juvenile fish communities?

Along the Adriatic coast in recent decades, continuous embankment has been recorded in order to create new tourist facilities together with environmental changes associated with warming. Further on, signs of high fishing pressure are recognized and highlighted on the European level. The coast characterized by numerous bays, coves and lagoons represent at the same time a mosaic of different nurseries for most of the fish species inhabiting the study area. A multivariate analysis of juvenile fish community data, sampled at two nursery sites at an interval of 17 years (2000 – early, and 2017 – late), was conducted to elucidate the trends of change in littoral juvenile fish communities along the eastern Adriatic coast. For that purpose, fishing, trophic and taxonomic composition of the community data were analyzed. The community composition differed significantly for Site, Period and all interactions and four groups of communities were defined, with clear cyclicity. No similar patterns were found in species composition between sites in the early period, while the observed community changes were governed by the same pattern at both sites in the late period. The species that contributed most to the observed changes were non- commercial, small, benthic resident fishes or those associated with canopy alga for shelter and feeding. The analysis correctly allocated samples based on community information to Sites and Periods. The results suggested that sifting in juvenile fish communities may be the consequence of constant embankment and marine infrastructure construction along the Adriatic coast in the last two decades, rather than climate change or fishing pressure, as generally considered.

nurseries, juvenile fish, embankment, Adriatic Sea

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