20.500.12556/RUP-23004 Hidden fish assemblages in Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica meadows are less diverse and abundant than in the cryptic spaces of neighboring habitats The present research provides the first quantitative comparison of the hidden fish assemblages in Posidonia meadows and neighboring non-Posidonia habitats. The data and samples were collected at sixty sampling points at three locations on the south side of Brač Island in the eastern Adriatic Sea from October 2023 to June 2025. The gradient of a significant increase in fish abundance and average fish species richness in cuboids and the increase in the frequency of occurrence of fish species were observed from habitats inside Posidonia meadows, over the Posidonia meadow edge, to the habitats outside Posidonia meadows. The primary influence on the abundance was the rarity of species from the family Gobiidae within Posidonia habitats. The markedly different species composition between the Posidonia and non-Posidonia habitats was driven by the high species richness of the family Labridae in the Posidonia habitat compared to the high species richness of the family Gobiidae in the non-Posidon The Posidonia meadow edge showed overlap with the two other habitat types, sharing a number of species. The sampling protocol developed in this study is suitable for the quantitative assessment of fishes inhabiting hidden Posidonia microhabitats and provides a methodological basis for future research. The current knowledge of fish in Mediterranean Posidonia meadows, as well as the conservation consequences of still limited knowledge, are discussed. Ta raziskava predstavlja prvo kvantitativno primerjavo skritih združb rib v travnikih vrste Posidonia oceanica in v sosednjih habitatih brez posidonije. Podatki in vzorci so bili zbrani na šestdesetih vzorčnih točkah na treh lokacijah na južni strani otoka Brač v vzhodnem delu Jadrana v obdobju od oktobra 2023 do junija 2025. Opazili smo gradient značilnega naraščanja številčnosti rib in povprečnega vrstnega bogastva rib v kuboidih ter povečanje pogostosti pojavljanja ribjih vrst, in sicer od habitatov znotraj travnikov posidonije, prek roba travnika, do habitatov zunaj travnikov posidonije. Glavni vpliv na številčnost je bila redkost vrst iz družine Gobiidae v habitatih posidonije. Izrazito različna vrstna sestava med habitati s posidonijo in brez nje je bila posledica večjega vrstnega bogastva družine Labridae v habitatih posidonije v primerjavi z večjim vrstnim bogastvom družine Gobiidae v habitatih brez posidonije. Rob travnika posidonije je kazal prekrivanje z obema drugima tipoma habitatov, saj si z njima deli določeno število vrst. Vzročni protokol, razvit v tej raziskavi, je primeren za kvantitativno ocenjevanje rib, ki naseljujejo skrite mikrohabitate posidonije, in predstavlja metodološko osnovo za prihodnje raziskave. Razpravljamo tudi o trenutnem znanju o ribah v sredozemskih travnikih posidonije ter o posledicah za varstvo narave zaradi še vedno omejenega poznavanja tega področja. Adriatic Sea seagrass cryptobenthos benthic fishes habitat charateristics SCUBA diving Jadransko morje morska trava kriptobentos bentoške ribe značilnosti habitata potapljanje z avtonomno potapljaško opremo (SCUBA) true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-05-04 13:55:11 2026-05-04 13:55:15 2026-05-05 03:08:56 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 str. 1-20 iss. 2, [article no.] 40 Vol. 7 Jun. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova NiDoloceno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2026-04-19 639.64 2673-4133 10.3390/ecologies7020040 276937475 RAZ_Kovacic_Marcelo_2026.pdf RAZ_Kovacic_Marcelo_2026.pdf 1 FB8E3DF0365E0D540CA4AE8D14D04B61 71f6015063466c2d8f9897162d2a7b749b1b2760b97c61343ccce442b547f2f3 2b3e8c77-47b0-11f1-9e8d-005056ac49c0 https://repozitorij.upr.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=33617 https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4133/7/2/40 1 09521af7-47b0-11f1-9e8d-005056ac49c0 https://repozitorij.upr.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=33616 Fakulteta za turistične študije - Turistica 0 0 0