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Preliminary field observations on a large-scale multi-reef artificial reef system in Scotland indicated that the provision of artificial habitat of varying design alters the numbers and types of fishes present in areas where they were previously largely absent. These modifications could, in time, be highly beneficial to any programme of fishery enhancement, protection or restoration but only where the scale of habitat manipulation was relevant to the target fisheries. Ecosystem simulations provide a theoretical basis on which to conduct examinations of habitat manipulation at scales that could not be tested empirically. In the present study, a series of ecosystem models was constructed based on broad-scale simulations for the west coast of Scotland in order to examine the potential consequences to selected fisheries of different scales and types of intervention using artificial reefs. Initialized with a large-scale mass-balance model, a number of smaller-scale dynamic ecosystem simulations covered management situations that encompassed habitat type and reef design for open, restricted and closed fisheries. Spatial simulations examined the presence and absence of artificial habitat with natural reefs and marine protected areas (MPAs) under realistic environmental situations. The simulated trends supported preliminary field observations that artificial habitats would support similar biotic aggregations to natural reefs. Designs that maximized the reef edge as a function of the total reef volume were more productive for some of the functional groups examined compared with larger single deployments of identical area. Increasing the area of artificial habitat did result in improvements to some of the fisheries. The behaviour of some functional groups, however, highlighted the limitations of the broad-scale primary model to smaller-scale investigation. Future simulations used to inform management decision at the sub-regional level would require evidence-based revision to improve their relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fish assemblages on two inshore rocky subtidal sites on the west coast of Scotland, were studied using diver visual surveys on a monthly basis between September 1995 and December 1999. A total of 17 689 fishes and 26 species were recorded from the two sites, Saulmore Point (056°27′ N; 005°24′ W) near Oban and Davy''s Rock (055°46′ N; 004°53′ W) on the Isle of Great Cumbrae. The gobiidThorogobius eppiphiatus , dominated the Saulmore Point site; six fish species accounted for >93% of total abundance at that site. At Davy''s Rock four species contributed at least 93% of total fish abundance, and the dominant species was the labrid Ctenolabrus rupestris. Total abundance of the dominant species displayed a clear seasonal trend, and this was significantly related to recorded daily average seawater temperature. A maximum abundance of 4·9 fishes m−2 was recorded in November 1998 at Davy''s Rock and 2·5 fishes m−2 at Saulmore Point in October 1998. Multivariate analysis indicated a degree of variation in assemblage structure between winter and summer at both sites. A number of species showed some degree of interannual variation, in particular the gobiidGobiusculus flavescens whose abundance increased by over 300 times over a 5 month period in 1998. Correlation analysis showed that variation in annual winter seawater temperature could act as an indicator of interannual variation in abundance of some of the dominant species utilizing rocky subtidal habitats. Copyright 2002 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]