Context Dependence: A Conceptual Approach for Understanding the Habitat Relationships of Coastal Marine Fauna
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
American Institute of Biological Sciences; Oxford University Press
Abstract
Coastal habitats, such as seagrasses, mangroves, rocky and coral reefs, salt marshes, and kelp forests, sustain many key fish and invertebrate populations around the globe. Our understanding of how animals use these broadly defined habitat types is typically derived from a few well-studied regions and is often extrapolated to similar habitats elsewhere. As a result, a working understanding of their habitat importance is often based on information derived from other regions and environmental contexts. Contexts such as tidal range, rainfall, and local geomorphology may fundamentally alter animal–habitat relationships, and there is growing evidence that broadly defined habitat types such as “mangroves” or “salt marsh” may show predictable spatial and temporal variation in habitat function in relation to these environmental drivers. In the present article, we develop a framework for systematically examining contextual predictability to define the geographic transferability of animal–habitat relationships, to guide ongoing research, conservation, and management actions in these systems.
First Page
986
Last Page
1004
DOI
10.1093/biosci/biaa100
Publication Date
10-2020
Department
Marine and Environmental Sciences
Recommended Citation
Michael Bradley, Ivan Nagelkerken, Ronald Baker, Marcus Sheaves, Context Dependence: A Conceptual Approach for Understanding the Habitat Relationships of Coastal Marine Fauna, BioScience, Volume 70, Issue 11, November 2020, Pages 986–1004, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaa100