Seascape connectivity scale data

This dataset contains a global compilation of significant relationships between coastal fish assemblages and metrics of seascape connectivity extracted from the peer-reviewed literature. Data were obtained through a structured search of Web of Science conducted on 10 June 2025 using predefined search terms relating to fish, coastal and estuarine environments, seascape ecology, and connectivity. Studies were included if they surveyed juvenile or adult finfish communities in the field and reported statistically significant relationships between fish assemblage metrics and spatial metrics describing connectivity with surrounding seascape features. Connectivity metrics included both area-based measures (e.g., habitat extent within a specified buffer distance) and distance-based measures (e.g., distance between survey sites and connected habitats). For each significant relationship, information was extracted on geographic location, focal and connected ecosystem types, fish assemblage metric category, spatial metric type, effect direction, and the spatial scale over which the relationship occurred. Each statistically significant ecological relationship was treated as a separate observation. Data extraction was undertaken manually by the study authors from 65 eligible publications. Variables in the dataset include the country, region, and ocean basin in which each study was conducted, along with the focal ecosystem where fish surveys took place and the connected ecosystem or seascape feature being evaluated. Fish response variables were classified into metric categories describing whole assemblages (e.g., total abundance or species richness), taxonomic groups (e.g., individual species or taxon-specific metrics), or functional groups (e.g., herbivores, transient species, or nursery-associated fishes). For each significant connectivity relationship, the dataset records the spatial metric type (distance- or area-based), the spatial scale over which the effect was detected (metres), the direction of the relationship, and a standardised net spatial scale value that accounts for the differing interpretations of positive and negative effects in distance- and area-based metrics.