diversity Article Deep-Reef Fish Communities of the Great Barrier Reef Shelf-Break: Trophic Structure and Habitat Associations Tiffany L. Sih 1,2,3,* , James J. Daniell 4, Thomas C.L. Bridge 2,5, Robin J. Beaman 4 , Mike Cappo 6 and Michael J. Kingsford 1,2 1 Marine and Aquaculture Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville 4811, Australia;
[email protected] 2 ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies; James Cook University, Townsville 4811, Australia;
[email protected] 3 AIMS@JCU partnership with the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville 4811, Australia 4 Geoscience, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville 4811, Australia;
[email protected] (J.J.D.);
[email protected] (R.J.B.) 5 Biodiversity and Geosciences Program, Museum of Tropical Queensland, Queensland Museum Network, Townsville 4810, Australia 6 Australian Institute of Marine Science, Cape Cleveland 4810, Australia;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 31 December 2018; Accepted: 11 February 2019; Published: 20 February 2019 Abstract: The ecology of habitats along the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) shelf-break has rarely been investigated. Thus, there is little understanding of how associated fishes interact with deeper environments. We examined relationships between deep-reef fish communities and benthic habitat structure. We sampled 48 sites over a large depth gradient (54–260 m) in the central GBR using Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations and multibeam sonar. Fish community composition differed both among multiple shelf-break reefs and habitats within reefs.