Seagrass habitat reduces vulnerability of red sea bream <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pagrus major</Emphasis> juveniles to piscivorous fish predator

ABSTRACT:   Predation experiments were conducted in mesocosms to test the hypothesis that habitat complexity affects vulnerability of red sea bream Pagrus major juveniles to piscivorous fish predators. Juvenile behavior was video-recorded for 6 h in two structurally different habitats: vegetated with sea grass Zostera marina , and unvegetated 0.5-t tanks. Association behavior with seagrass was observed in the vegetated tank throughout the trials. Predation experiments were conducted with 30 red sea bream juveniles (29.9 mm body length) exposed to two individuals of the piscivorous fish predator Chinese sea bass Lateolabrax sp. (261.6 mm), for 6 h in 1.0-t tanks. Predation rate (no. of fish predated on per predator per h) was significantly lower in the vegetated tank (0.02/predator per h) than in the unvegetated tank (0.27/predator per h). Present experiments indicate that habitat complexity reduces vulnerability of juvenile red sea bream to predation by piscivorous fish by serving as physical and/or visual barriers and limiting the predator's ability to pursue and capture prey. Seagrass beds in the shallow coastal waters around Japan are suggested to be an important nursery for red sea bream since they provide the juveniles with habitat complexity as well as serve as a feeding ground.