Shipwreck Ecology

This dataset compiles ecological and environmental parameters from five shipwrecks around Mauritius to assess their ecological performance as artificial reefs. The data include fish biomass, density, trophic group biomass and density, coral and benthic composition, and associated environmental variables (temperature, light, pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, nitrate, phosphate, silicate, and chlorophyll-a). Measurements were collected through standardized underwater surveys and laboratory analyses in 2025. The dataset supports quantitative assessment of how environmental and structural factors influence coral and fish assemblage performance on shipwrecks.
Results are expressed as site-level means (± standard error) and include derived Optimal Ecological Performance Thresholds (OEPT) based on quartile binning of environmental predictors associated with high fish biomass and coral cover.

The dataset can be directly analyzed for relationships between environmental parameters and ecological performance metrics, replicated in R/Python statistical environments, or integrated into meta-analyses of artificial reef performance.
Researchers can also use the OEPT thresholds as ecological benchmarks for evaluating or planning future artificial reef deployments.