Fish assemblages of a shallow Mediterranean lagoon (Nador, Morocco): An analysis based on species and functional guilds

Abstract

R. 2015. Fish assemblages of a shallow Mediterranean lagoon (Nador, Morocco): An analysis based on species and functional guilds. Acta Ichthyol. Piscat. 45 (2): 115-124.Background. Due to their location between the continent and the sea and their shallow depths, lagoons play an important ecological role in coastal ecosystems by providing a selection of habitat types for many species, functioning as nursery areas and feeding grounds for marine opportunistic fi shes. The fi sh fauna of the Nador Lagoon (NE Morocco), as in the majority of southern Mediterranean lagoons, has been insuffi ciently studied, even though the lagoon itself supports important commercial fi sheries. The presently reported study investigated the spatial and seasonal uses of shallow habitats for fi sh fauna in the Nador Lagoon. Materials and methods. Sampling was done using a beach seine net at six stations covering almost entire lagoon and representing habitats differing in many parameters such as the distance from the inlet, bottom sediment characteristics, presence of macroalgae, etc. The fi sh abundance was standardized as catch per unit effort (CPUE) and the fi sh community was analysed both in terms of its taxonomic and functional composition (by making use of both ecological and dietary preference guilds). Results. A total of 2872 individuals, representing 15 species from 12 families, was collected during the four seasons. Only six species were always present in all seasons. Fish abundance peaked in spring and the species diversity was higher in spring and summer. The fi sh assemblage was largely dominated in terms of ecological guild by the resident and benthivorous species. Spatial and seasonal fi sh assemblages differed both in terms of fi sh abundance and diversity and also in terms of functional guilds composition. In autumn, the fi sh assemblage was dominated by the marine juvenile migrants whereas in winter, spring, and summer, resident species were the most abundant. Conclusion. The combination of taxonomic and functional characteristics of the fi sh assemblages, determined in the presently reported study, may contribute to a better understanding of the ecological networks of the Nador Lagoon, thus providing useful data for its conservation and management. Keywords: fi sh, spatio-temporal assemblages, beach seine, lagoon, Nador, Morocco Jaafour et al. 116 or even restoring certain Mediterranean lagoons are being discussed. Hence, there is a need for more information on the role and functioning of coastal lagoons in terms of fi sh requirements.The Nador Lagoon, also known as the "Sebkha Bou-Areg" or "Mar Chica" (the small sea), is the second largest lagoon complex in northern Africa (115 km 2 ) and the broadest paralic environment of Morocco. Its importance consists not only in its ecological value (RAMSAR site) but also in its socio-economic role. The fi sh fauna of the Nador Lagoon is not well known (Bouchereau et al. 2000), although the lagoon itself maintains a diverse fi sh community and supports important commercial ...

Fish community, seasonal movement and habitat use in a subtropical coastal lagoon

“…In the Navachiste coastal lagoon, 75% of the fish species that inhabit the lagoon are juveniles; thus, the system is used as a nursery habitat, while the rest are adults that periodically use the lagoon as a refuge and feeding area. These results agree with those observed in Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon, Argentina (Bruno et al 2013), Nador Lagoon, Morocco (Jaafour et al 2015), Barra de Navidad Lagoon, Mexico (Cabrera-Páez et al 2018), and Fattibello Lagoon, Italy (Lanzoni et al 2021).…”

Fish assemblage structure in shallow waters of the Mellah Lagoon (Algeria): Seasonal and spatial distribution patterns and relation to environmental parameters

“…Neither marine stragglers nor freshwater species were caught. The dominance of resident species has been observed in other southern Mediterranean lagoons such as Nador Lagoon in Morocco (Jaafour et al 2015), Ichkeul Lagoon in Tunisia (Sellami et al 2010), and some northern Mediterranean lagoons (Manzo et al 2016). These results contrast with many other studies conducted in European lagoons.…”

“…Generally, Mediterranean lagoons, which show significant spatial and temporal patterns of the fish assemblage structure, contain large numbers of marine stragglers (Mariani 2001, Franco et al 2008, Maci and Basset 2009. This is the case of the Nador Lagoon (Morocco) which was sampled using the same protocol as in the presently reported study and where many marine stragglers were caught, such as: Mullus barbatus Linnaeus, 1758; Callionymus lyra Linnaeus, 1758; Diplodus puntazzo (Walbaum, 1792); Symphodus tinca (Linnaeus, 1758); Symphodus cinereus (Bonnaterre, 1788) (see Jaafour et al 2015). This lagoon is little confined because it communicates extensively with the sea (Guélorget et al 1989) and the salinity of its waters is much higher than those of the Nador Lagoon (Iouzzi et al unpublished * ).…”

“…For example, the fish species richness listed in 40 Atlanto-Mediterranean lagoons ranged from 6 to 48, with a mean of 23.4 species (Pérez-Ruzafa et al 2007, 2011a. The Mellah Lagoon supported fewer fish species than the majority of the southern Mediterranean lagoons (Table 4) including Ghar El Melh in Tunisia (26 species), Lake Manzala in Egypt (17) (Kraïem et al 2009), Ichkeul Lagoon in Tunisia (13) (Sellami et al 2010), Nador Lagoon in Morocco (15-18) (Bouchereau et al 2000, Jaafour et al 2015. Caution is needed when comparing fish diversity or assemblage structure in different ecosystems.…”

“…In the southern part, few investigations were conducted in the Nador Lagoon, Morocco (Bouchereau et al 2000, Jaafour et al 2015, Mellah Lagoon, Algeria (Chaoui et al 2006a), Ichkeul Lagoon, Tunisia (Sellami et al 2010), Ghar El Melh and Lake Manzala lagoons, Tunisia (Kraïem et al 2009). …”