Shallow coastal habitats are crucial for many marine fish species, but human activities such as beach building and land reclamation are destroying the places where fish breed and grow.
Our research so far has shown that changes in fish communities along the Adriatic coast can be linked to coastal development, but the importance of natural beaches and the effects of infilling have not yet been sufficiently studied. Therefore, we will soon start field research to assess the impact of human activities on fish communities in the Adriatic Sea.
As part of the project “Linking the ecological role of habitats and trophic patterns with the dynamics of fish populations and diversity – LinkFish”, funded by the Croatian Science Foundation, scientists led by Dr. Sanja Matić Skoko from the Laboratory of Ichthyology and Coastal Fisheries will study the fish community on natural and artificially modified beaches in Kvarner and Central Dalmatia.
This research will provide us with important information to answer the question of how human activities have changed the composition and structure of fish communities on the Croatian coast.
Sampling will be carried out in late spring, before the start of the tourist season, when ecological conditions are most likely to allow the presence of juvenile fish. The scientists will study the fish populations using divers, larval survey nets and the anaesthetic quadrat method to determine the composition of small cryptobenthic fish species that hide in crevices and under rocks.
