As coastal urbanization accelerates, artificial marine structures such as seawalls are increasingly replacing natural habitats, often altering community composition and reducing biodiversity in intertidal ecosystems. While habitat complexity and material type have been widely studied as design features to enhance ecological outcomes, the role of substrate color remains understudied. This project investigated how substrate color and structural complexity influence early colonization patterns of sessile and mobile invertebrates on artificial panels across four intertidal sites in Sydney Harbour. A total of 160 concrete panels (four colors × two complexity levels) were deployed across sites with varying environmental conditions and surveyed at 8 weeks and 4 months post-deployment. After four months, results suggest that while both color and complexity can influence community structure, habitat complexity exerts a stronger, more consistent effect on colonization. Color effects were observed but were generally independent of complexity and varied per site, indicating interactions with localized environments. Additionally, microhabitat scale was significantly more impactful at flat and crevice habitats, suggesting complexity’s influence operates at a spatial gradient. These findings underscore the ecological value of incorporating complexity into marine structures and highlight the need for longer-term studies to assess how color and complexity shape community succession over time.
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