Yakimishyn, Jennifer Lee-Ann2024-08-152024-08-1520032003https://hdl.handle.net/1828/20224The linking of temporal variability in biodiversity with spatial scale is an integral component of marine conservation. In this study, I evaluated the interplay between the temporal variability in fish communities and local-to-regional environmental properties measured for eelgrass beds (Zostera marina) found in southern Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia. Effective monitoring of the temporal variability in eelgrass fish diversity required: 1) triplicate beach seine sets on a rising low tide, 2) sampling in early spring, early summer and late summer, and 3) diel sampling. The analysis of eelgrass fish data required alpha diversity measures (e.g. species richness and taxonomic distinctness), beta diversity measures ( e.g. taxonomic similarity), and multivariate methods to detect subtle temporal and between-site differences. Additional temporal changes in eelgrass fish diversity were evaluated in response to changes in local eelgrass bed properties and to regional changes in hydrodynamic energy. I found, in late spring, fish diversity differed between sites but these differences were not explained by eelgrass properties or hydrodynamic energy. However, in late summer, fish diversity appeared to be related to regional hydrodynamic energy but the explanatory power of local environmental and eelgrass variables was not high. Further research addressing additional abiotic variables and the influence of biotic processes is recommended.174 pagesAvailable to the World Wide WebThesis