Space utilization in a community of temperate reef fishes inhabiting small experimental artificial reefs

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Abstract
Using multidimensional contingency table analysis, we investigated the pattern of space use in an assemblage of nearshore reef fishes inhabiting small artificial reefs in Barkley Sound, British Columbia. Two variables, (1) shelter type and size, and (2) elevation above substrate, were specifically studied. All species had precise microhabitat requirements, and they all showed segregation in the spatial dimension, with the exception of the pair Sebastes caurinus – S. maliger. Only Sebastes melanops showed consistent shifts in its space use in response to increases in the density of the other members of the community, indicating that, with this exception, interspecific competition was probably a weak force in this system.