Hansen, Joakim P. and Sundblad, Göran and Bergström, Ulf and Austin, Asa N. and Donadi, Serena and Eriksson, Britas Klemens and Eklof, Johan S.
(2019).
Recreational boating degrades vegetation important for fish recruitment.
AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment. 48
, 539-551
[Research article]
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Abstract
Recreational boating increases globally and associated moorings are often placed in vegetated habitats important for fish recruitment. Meanwhile, assessments of the effects of boating on vegetation, and potential effects on associated fish assemblages are rare. Here, we analysed (i) the effect of small-boat marinas on vegetation structure, and (ii) juvenile fish abundance in relation to vegetation cover in shallow wave-sheltered coastal inlets. We found marinas to have lower vegetation cover and height, and a different species composition, compared to control inlets. This effect became stronger with increasing berth density. Moreover, there was a clear positive relationship between vegetation cover and fish abundance. We conclude that recreational boating and related moorings are associated with reduced cover of aquatic vegetation constituting important habitats for juvenile fish. We therefore recommend that coastal constructions and associated boating should be allocated to more disturbance tolerant environments (e.g. naturally wave-exposed shores), thereby minimizing negative environmental impacts.
Authors/Creators: | Hansen, Joakim P. and Sundblad, Göran and Bergström, Ulf and Austin, Asa N. and Donadi, Serena and Eriksson, Britas Klemens and Eklof, Johan S. | ||||||
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Title: | Recreational boating degrades vegetation important for fish recruitment | ||||||
Series Name/Journal: | AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment | ||||||
Year of publishing : | 2019 | ||||||
Volume: | 48 | ||||||
Page range: | 539-551 | ||||||
Number of Pages: | 13 | ||||||
Publisher: | Springer | ||||||
Associated Programs and Other Stakeholders: | SLU - Environmental assessment > Programme Coastal and sea areas | ||||||
ISSN: | 0044-7447 | ||||||
Language: | English | ||||||
Publication Type: | Research article | ||||||
Refereed: | Yes | ||||||
Article category: | Scientific peer reviewed | ||||||
Version: | Published version | ||||||
Copyright: | Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 | ||||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 1 Natural sciences > 106 Biological Sciences (Medical to be 3 and Agricultural to be 4) > Ecology (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 401 Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries > Fish and Aquacultural Science | ||||||
Keywords: | Baltic Sea, Fish reproduction, Lagoons, Macrophytes, Mooring, Shoreline development | ||||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-100164 | ||||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-100164 | ||||||
Additional ID: |
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ID Code: | 16150 | ||||||
Faculty: | NJ - Fakulteten för naturresurser och jordbruksvetenskap | ||||||
Department: | (NL, NJ) > Department of Aquatic Resources | ||||||
Deposited By: | SLUpub Connector | ||||||
Deposited On: | 17 Jun 2019 10:40 | ||||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 17 Jun 2019 10:40 |
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