ABSTRACT: Habitat extent and configuration are critical drivers of faunal abundance, diversity, and ecosystem functioning. Evidence from terrestrial systems often suggests that large contiguous tracts of habitat generally support more species and individuals than several small patches of equal summed area. However, studies from shallow-water marine systems often suggest the opposite trend or that there are more complex interactions. Since tidal wetlands (e.g. salt marshes and mangrove forests) are at the interface between terrestrial and marine ecosystems and provide essential nursery habitat for a variety of estuarine taxa, it is important to elucidate how the size, configuration, and surrounding matrix of these wetlands influence their role in supporting faunal communities. We sampled 12 isolated marsh islands ranging in size from 300 to 55000 m² within North Carolina, USA, to better understand the influence of marsh size and configuration on overall biodiversity and faunal abundance of estuarine nekton. Field observations indicated that nekton catch rates were directly correlated with marsh area and perimeter; however, species richness did not change with marsh size or configuration. Further analysis indicated that small and medium marsh islands support higher species turnover among islands than large marsh islands. Quantitative simulations using the ‘Single-Large-Or-Several-Small’ framework and idealized, circular islands showed that intermediate-sized islands support the highest relative abundance of nekton after standardizing for total marsh area. Our findings suggest that focused conservation or restoration efforts for marsh islands ranging in size from 1000 to 10000 m² may help maintain and enhance estuarine nekton communities.

中文翻译：

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沼泽岛大小对 nekton 群落的影响：中间最优而不是单个大或几个小 (SLOSS)

摘要：栖息地范围和配置是动物丰富度、多样性和生态系统功能的关键驱动因素。来自陆地系统的证据通常表明，与几个相等总面积的小块相比，大片连续的栖息地通常支持更多的物种和个体。然而，浅水海洋系统的研究通常表明相反的趋势或存在更复杂的相互作用。由于潮汐湿地（例如盐沼和红树林）位于陆地和海洋生态系统之间的交界处，并为各种河口分类群提供必要的苗圃栖息地，因此阐明这些湿地的大小、构造和周围基质如何影响是很重要的他们在支持动物群落方面的作用。我们采样了 12 个孤立的沼泽岛，大小从 300 到 55000 米不等²在美国北卡罗来纳州，以更好地了解沼泽大小和配置对整体生物多样性和河口河口动物群落丰度的影响。实地观察表明，nekton 捕获率与沼泽面积和周长直接相关；然而，物种丰富度并未随沼泽大小或构造而变化。进一步的分析表明，中小型沼泽岛比大型沼泽岛支持更高的岛屿间物种周转率。使用“单个-大-或-几个-小”框架和理想化圆形岛屿的定量模拟表明，在对沼泽总面积进行标准化后，中等大小的岛屿支持最高的相对丰度。我们的研究结果表明，对大小从 1000 米到 10000 米不等的沼泽岛进行重点保护或恢复工作²可能有助于维持和加强河口鱼类群落。