1. Human activities have reduced the carrying capacity of many estuarine systems by degrading and removing habitat. Artificial reefs may increase estuarine rocky‐reef habitat, but our understanding of their ecological impact is limited. In particular, the question of whether fish on artificial structures are produced by the habitat or attracted from nearby natural rocky‐reefs is of concern.
2. We used baited remote underwater video at artificial reef sites and nearby natural reef sites to investigate the influence of artificial reefs on fish abundance in estuaries with low amounts of natural rocky‐reef. We measured total fish abundance and the abundance of three species of fisheries importance (all in the family Sparidae) before artificial reef deployment (Reefballs^®), 1 year after and 2 years after. This design was replicated in three widely separate estuaries over 4 years.
3. During the 2 years post‐deployment, abundance of Sparidae fish increased on both artificial and natural rocky‐reefs, even when artificial reefs were deployed in different years and seasons. Total fish abundance increased at artificial reef sites with no evidence of change at natural rocky‐reef sites.
4. Our findings provide evidence that the fish seen on artificial reefs were not attracted from the nearby rocky‐reefs and were likely ‘produced’ by the addition of artificial reefs in these estuaries. Artificial reefs can increase the carrying capacity in these estuaries by providing refuge that would otherwise be unavailable.
5. Synthesis and applications. The increased fish abundance in three estuaries at both artificial reef and natural reef locations shows that purpose‐built artificial reefs can be used in conjunction with restoration/protection of existing natural habitat, to increase estuarine carrying capacity and fish abundance. This may be for fisheries enhancement or estuarine restoration.

中文翻译：

---

人工鱼礁增加了栖息地有限的河口鱼类的数量

1. 人类活动通过降低和去除栖息地而降低了许多河口系统的承载能力。人工鱼礁可能会增加河口岩石礁的栖息地，但我们对其生态影响的理解是有限的。特别要注意的是，人造结构上的鱼是栖息地生产的还是附近自然岩礁的吸引。
2. 我们在人造礁石现场和附近的天然礁石现场使用诱饵的远程水下录像，以调查人造礁石对天然岩礁数量少的河口鱼类丰富度的影响。我们测得的总鱼丰度和前人工鱼礁（Reefballs丰的三个品种的渔业重要性（所有家庭鲷）^®后1年和2年后）。这种设计在4年中的三个不同的河口中得到了复制。
3. 在部署后的两年中，即使在不同的年份和季节部署了人工鱼礁，在人工和天然礁石上Sparidae鱼的数量也会增加。人工礁现场的总鱼类丰度增加，而天然礁石现场没有任何变化的迹象。
4. 我们的发现提供了证据，表明在人工礁石上看到的鱼没有被附近的礁石所吸引，并且可能是通过在这些河口中添加人工礁石“产生”的。人造礁石可以提供避难所，从而增加这些河口的承载能力。
5. 综合与应用。人工礁和天然礁位置的三个河口鱼类丰度增加表明，可以将专用的人工礁与现有自然栖息地的恢复/保护结合使用，以提高河口的承载能力和鱼类丰度。这可能是为了增强渔业或恢复河口。