Spatial distribution of benthic swimming organisms in Cheyou Island artificial reefs area based on species distribution models

Artificial reefs positively affect on creating habitat, improving the water ecological environment, and enhancing biodiversity. The performance of artificial reef deployment is closely related to its biological influence scope. A total of eleven cruises of field surveys were conducted from 2019 to 2021 in the artificial reefs to explore the impact of artificial reefs on the distribution of benthic swimming species. Trap and visual census methods were both used to sample benthic swimming organisms. The response relationships between biological indicators (e.g., occurrence probability, abundance, body length and weight of individual common species, and community richness) and the distance with artificial reefs were explored based on species distribution models (SDMs). This study summarized the influence scope of artificial reefs and fitted the spatial distribution of the occurrence probability for each species to verify the scope. The results indicated species could be divided into reef-dependent, intermediate, and off-reef species types according to the response curve between species occurrence probability and the distance with reefs. The reef-dependent species preferred to locate at 0-375 m away from the reefs, and the intermediate and off-reef species types were 50-375 m and 225-879 m, respectively. The abundance of reef-dependent and intermediate species types was higher at 0-225 m away from reefs, while that of reef-off species was higher at 325-879 m. The body length and weight of reef-dependent and reef-off species were more significant at 0-225 m away from the reefs, while those of intermediate species were larger at 0-525 m. The community richness was higher at 0-225 m. The spatial distribution pattern of each species was consistent with the response relationships between indicators and the distance with reefs. This study revealed the changes in response characteristics of different benthic swimming organisms to the distance from the reefs, explored the influence scope of artificial reefs under different indicators, and provided a reference for the construction, planning, and management of artificial reef areas.