Abstract
- Oyster reefs have been shown to be an important habitat for certain fish and decapods, used for feeding and refuge purposes. Because many species orient towards boundary areas, increasing edge complexity could have an effect on the manner in which the reefs are utilized by different fauna. Breder traps were used to sample fish and decapod populations at several oyster reefs in the spring of 1997. The oyster reefs were chosen to reflect a range of edge convolutions. Total fish abundance within the reef was not significantly related to perimeter convolution, but the ratio of fish present in a reef relative to adjacent sand areas showed a significant relationship to perimeter convolution. These results suggested that edge characteristics may be important on the local scale in influencing distributions among adjacent habitat types.