Samenvatting

Tropical coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs, seagrass beds and sandy or rubble substrates form interconnected habitats that support a wide variety of reef fish species and provide important ecosystem services. Understanding how fish communities differ across these habitats is crucial for improving conservation and management strategies, particularly for small island developing states (SIDS) such as the Seychelles, where the livelihoods of local populations are heavily dependent on healthy marine ecosystems. This study investigates how the species richness, abundance and diversity of reef fish differ between coral reefs, neighboring seagrass beds and adjacent sand/rubble bottoms in Beau Vallon Bay, Mahé, Seychelles, and examines how habitat complexity influences these patterns.