Juvenile fish condition in estuarine nurseries along the Portuguese coast

Vasconcelos, Rita P.; Patrick, Ruth; Fonseca, Vanessa F.; Ruano, Miguel; Tanner, Susanne E.; Costa, M. J.; Cabral, Henrique N.

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2009.01.002

Cited by 62 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 65 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This is an interesting finding because correlations are often used to assess growth indices, but relationships are often timedependent. This relationship was found in a similar study that compared biochemical and somatic indices in wild-caught fish in Portuguese estuaries and highlights the need to look at the time-evolution of response, due to latency in response of individuals to changes in environmental factors and food availability (Vasconcelos et al 2009). For example, the RNA:DNA ratio did not appear to be a good predictor of growth when based on a direct correlation with morphometric indices.…”

Section: Growth Indicesmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…However, in studies that examine multiple indices on the same fish, low correlations are frequently found between different indices, indicating that the choice of growth and condition indicators of fish may affect conclusions (Gilliers et al 2004, Vasconcelos et al 2009). The lack of correlation among indices has been ascribed to differences in temporal response of the indices, suggesting that the timescale of the study could be a critical factor influencing the interpretation of results (Gilliers et al 2004).…”

Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, this high sensitivity may actually decrease the ability of biochemical indices to differentiate habitat quality in field studies, because results can be extremely variable because of numerous factors (i.e. ontogeny, temperature, species), which may ultimately mask differences in habitat quality (Gilliers et al 2004, Vasconcelos et al 2009). Therefore, several independent methods may be necessary to minimize problems caused by biases in any one of the methods (Gilliers et al 2004).…”

Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indicators of growth and condition provide integrative measures of the effects of both biotic and abiotic environmental influences on fish (Searcy et al 2007, Zapfe & Rakocinski 2008. As such, these indicators have been used to compare habitat quality (Amara et al 2007, Haas et al 2009, Vasconcelos et al 2009), examine fish response to pollution (Amara et al 2007) and climatic variability (Teal et al 2008), inform management of fisheries stocks or endangered species (Lorenzen & Enberg 2002), compare nursery grounds (Gilliers et al 2004, Vasconcelos et al 2009), and assess restored habitats (La Peyre et al 2007). Over the years, researchers have identified and used several morphometric and biochemical correlates of growth; however, differences in sensitivity and reliability of the methods and the need for species-specific standardization for some methods have hampered efforts to identify appropriate indicators for routine evaluation of habitat quality in the field.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In coastal Louisiana, the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion (Caernarvon) is one such project that restores the annual spring flood pulse to Breton Sound, Louisiana, with the goal of benefiting fish populations. However, managers lack the tools to fully evaluate the impacts of Caernarvon on fish populations or to assess the quality of the downstream habitat in relation to habitat not receiving the restored annual flood pulse.Numerous measures of growth and condition have been used in both carefully controlled laboratory studies and in a range of field studies (Bergeron 1997, MercadoAllen et al 2006, Amara et al 2007, Vasconcelos et al 2009). However, in studies that examine multiple indices on the same fish, low correlations are frequently found between different indices, indicating that the choice of growth and condition indicators of fish may affect conclusions (Gilliers et al 2004, Vasconcelos et al 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Using Gambusia affinis growth and condition to assess estuarine habitat quality: a comparison of indices

Piazza¹,

Peyre²

2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Numerous indices have been used to estimate fish growth and condition; however, differences in sensitivity and reliability of the methods have hampered efforts to identify appropriate indicators for routine evaluation of habitat quality in the field. We compared common morphometric (length, weight, somatic growth, length-weight condition) and biochemical (RNA:DNA ratio, relative DNA content, energy density) growth indices on the same wild-caught mosquitofish Gambusia affinis to examine their usefulness as indicators of habitat quality. A laboratory experiment was used to quantify growth rates of wild-caught G. affinis under different feeding treatments. Field studies consisted of both a short-term enclosure experiment (10 d) and weekly (7 wk) fish collections to compare growth indices in managed inflow and reference marshes during a winter/spring freshwater pulse event in upper Breton Sound, Louisiana, USA. Marshes flooded by restored freshwater pulses were capable of producing optimum growth (0.001 g DW d -1; DW = dry weight) and energetically valuable habitat (> 6000 cal g -1 DW) for trophic transport. Because of differences in timing of response, morphometric and biochemical indices were generally not directly correlated, but there was clear agreement in direction and magnitude of response. The most striking difference in timing was that biochemical indices (RNA:DNA) responded more slowly to treatments than did morphometric growth indices. While gross patterns are comparable between indicators, differences in sensitivity and response time between indicators suggest that choice of indicator needs to be accounted for in interpretation and analysis of effects.KEY WORDS: Growth · Energy density · RNA:DNA ratio · Resident species · Poeciliidae · Estuary · Fish · Louisiana Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 412: [231][232][233][234][235][236][237][238][239][240][241][242][243][244][245] 2010 some methods have hampered efforts to identify appropriate indicators for routine evaluation of habitat quality in the field.Increasing threats to fish populations arising from both natural events and anthropogenic activities have led to extensive estuarine restoration activities around the world and a critical need for appropriate indicators to assess the relationship between restored and altered habitat and their associated fish populations (Madon 2008). In particular, restoration in large-river delta environments (e.g. Williamson River Delta, Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, Mississippi River Delta) often focuses on the reconnection of the riverine flood events that provide extended access to highquality, ephemerally flooded estuarine habitats for transient and resident fishes (Kneib 2000). These flooded habitats have been shown to be functionally valuable for fish growth due to an abundance of high quality food sources (Madon 2008). In coastal Louisiana, the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion (Caernarvon) is one such project that restores the annual s...

show abstract

Section: Growth Indicesmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Using Gambusia affinis growth and condition to assess estuarine habitat quality: a comparison of indices

Piazza¹,

Peyre²

2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

References

2013

Condition and Health Indicators of Exploited Marine Fishes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Feasting in mussel farms fattens up snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) compared to snapper in adjacent natural habitats

Underwood,

Mugica,

Jeffs

2024

Aquaculture Fish & Fisheries

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The presence of wild fish in and around aquaculture habitats is often assumed a response to food resources within these habitats, either from input feed, the presence of cultured species, and/or the assemblage of biofouling that naturally colonises aquaculture structures. The nutritional quality of the food resources consumed by wild fish in aquaculture habitats is also important in determining their nutritional condition and subsequent productivity. Few studies have investigated the nutritional quality of prey in aquaculture habitats, and these have mostly focused on fed aquaculture by tracking manufactured fish pellets into the diets of wild fish. However, in non‐fed aquaculture, the assemblage of cultured and biofouling species may also provide a nutritional benefit to fish feeding in these habitats. The Australasian snapper, Chrysophrys auratus, are commonly present as adults within coastal mussel farms in New Zealand and tend to become a resident species. This study investigated the nutritional quality of the gut contents of snapper in soft‐sediment habitats within and outside of New Zealand green‐lipped mussel farms. Total lipid, protein, carbohydrate and total calorific content were measured from the gut contents of snapper sampled from mussel farm and natural (i.e. control) habitats. Snapper in mussel farms had double the dietary intake of lipid (16% vs. 8%) from consuming lipid‐rich bivalves and barnacles which are in abundance in mussel farms. Higher lipid intake can contribute to improved nutritional condition, reproduction and growth in snapper. However, the higher dietary lipid intake of snapper in mussel farms did not increase their overall body condition (i.e. Fulton condition index). This may be due to the coarse nature of this measure, or the use of the additional lipid in more rapid somatic growth or reproductive outputs, possibilities that warrant examination through further research. Overall, this study shows for the first time the potential ecosystem benefits of shellfish aquaculture in provisioning nutritionally valuable prey for coastal fish populations.

show abstract

Juvenile fish condition in estuarine nurseries along the Portuguese coast

Cited by 62 publications

References 65 publications

Using Gambusia affinis growth and condition to assess estuarine habitat quality: a comparison of indices

Using Gambusia affinis growth and condition to assess estuarine habitat quality: a comparison of indices

References

Feasting in mussel farms fattens up snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) compared to snapper in adjacent natural habitats

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About