Anderson and Yoklavich: Habitat association of deepwater demersal fishes off central California 



177 



E 



Patcti use 

 A Pleuronectiformes 



Patcfi selectivity 



2.0 



B Agonldae 



1.5- 

 1.0- 

 0.5- 

 0.0 



I , I l ^' l . , 



C Citharichthys spp 



Patcfi type 



Microtiabitat 

 use 



I 

 i 



E 

 [ 



I 



: 

 [ 



1311 

 U 



-20 20 40 60 



Selectivity index 



100% 



50% 



0% 

 100% 



50% 



0% 

 100% 



50% 



0% 

 100% 



50% 



0% 



Figure 8 



Intermediate and fine-scale habitat use by soft-sediment associates; (A) flat- 

 fishes, Pleuronectiformes, (B) poachers, Agonidae, iC) sanddabs, Citharichthys 

 spp., and the blackeyed goby (Rhinogobiops nicholsii). Symbols and interpreta- 

 tion are given in Figure 5. 



For example, broad-scale strata supported characteris- 

 tic fish assemblages. However, at intermediate scales 

 (within a strata), species distribution varied by patch 

 composition, patch size, and the neighborhood of sur- 

 rounding patches. At fine scales, microhabitat use by 

 fishes indicated which portions of habitat-patches were 

 actually used (e.g., species A in cobbles and species B in 

 mud, where both species were present within the same 

 cobble-mud patch). A vital aspect of using a multiscaled 

 approach, however, was that information from each spa- 



tial scale could then be integrated to examine the rela- 

 tive importance of habitat types and their structural 

 configuration, and this information also indicated that 

 for some species the landscape context was important. 

 For example, R. nicholsii was mainly found on sand or 

 at the interface between sand and rock (microhabitat 

 use), but these microhabitats were located within a 

 range of rock and sediment patch types (intermediate- 

 scale), which in turn were located within the complex 

 hard stratum (broad-scale). This structure indicated 



