Temperature and salinity as primary determinants influencing the biogeography of fishes in South African estuaries

Harrison, Trevor D.; Whitfield, Alan K.

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2005.09.010

Cited by 149 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…In other studies (e.g. Costa & Elliott 1991, Thiel et al 1995, Kupschus & Tremain 2001, Harrison & Whitfield 2006, Lobry et al 2006, this estuarine fish community structuring has also been related to environmental variables, especially temperature and salinity, which depend on temporal variations in water flow (Lobry et al 2006).…”

Section: Temporal Feeding Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploitation of trophic resources by fish under stressful estuarine conditions

Pasquaud¹,

David²,

Lobry³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Despite their high complexity and variability, estuaries are very productive and play an important role in fish feeding. We investigated how fish optimize their use of the available trophic resources by studying trophic preference variability and feeding strategies of some pelagic and demersal fish in the Gironde estuary (southwest France). Fish and their prey were collected approximately every 2 mo from July 2003 to June 2004 in the upstream area of the saline estuary. Stomach contents were analysed to assess the variability of fish feeding in relation to their size and the time of year. Intra-and interspecific food niche overlap was evaluated using Schoener's index, and a crosscalculation method was used to highlight general fish trends in predation strategy. Stomach content results showed interspecific and intraspecific variability in feeding by fish, which can be explained by their different or ontogenetically changing ecomorphology. Their diets are composed mainly of zooplankton and hyperbenthic crustaceans, with temporal variations in the consumed taxa. Optimization of available trophic resource use, a key element in estuarine resilience, is thus possible due to the temporal adaptation of this structural trophic web. However, in spite of their temporal adaptation capacity, most fish species exhibited a specialist feeding strategy. This result was not expected. Since zooplankton and hyperbenthic crustaceans exhibit a low specific richness in estuaries, especially in the high turbidity of the Gironde estuary, the loss of one of these species could affect the fish trophic web structure and hence the resilience of the system.

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Section: Temporal Feeding Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploitation of trophic resources by fish under stressful estuarine conditions

Pasquaud¹,

David²,

Lobry³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Harrison and Whitfield 2006) and abundance (e.g. Power and Attrill 2003), especially for those that live in shallow estuaries with irregular riverine flow or exchange with the sea (e.g.…”

Section: Water Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Detecting range shifts among Australian fishes in response to climate change

Booth

Bond

Macreadie

2011

Mar. Freshwater Res.

143

136

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Abstract. One of the most obvious and expected impacts of climate change is a shift in the distributional range of organisms, which could have considerable ecological and economic consequences. Australian waters are hotspots for climate-induced environmental changes; here, we review these potential changes and their apparent and potential implications for freshwater, estuarine and marine fish. Our meta-analysis detected ,300 papers globally on 'fish' and 'range shifts', with ,7% being from Australia. Of the Australian papers, only one study exhibited definitive evidence of climate-induced range shifts, with most studies focussing instead on future predictions. There was little consensus in the literature regarding the definition of 'range', largely because of populations having distributions that fluctuate regularly. For example, many marine populations have broad dispersal of offspring (causing vagrancy). Similarly, in freshwater and estuarine systems, regular environmental changes (e.g. seasonal, ENSO cycles -not related to climate change) cause expansion and contraction of populations, which confounds efforts to detect range 'shifts'. We found that increases in water temperature, reduced freshwater flows and changes in ocean currents are likely to be the key drivers of climateinduced range shifts in Australian fishes. Although large-scale frequent and rigorous direct surveys of fishes across their entire distributional ranges, especially at range edges, will be essential to detect range shifts of fishes in response to climate change, we suggest careful co-opting of fisheries, museum and other regional databases as a potential, but imperfect alternative.

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“…Several studies from different regions have emphasized abiotic factors, such as temperature and salinity (Harrison & Whitfield, 2006), salinity and turbidity (Cyrus & Blaber, 1992;Barletta et al, 2005), turbidity (Cyrus & Blaber, 1987;Abou-Seedo et al, 1990), morphodynamic models (Inui et al, 2010), and input of freshwater and river flow (Barletta et al, 2005;Vinagre et al, 2009;Baptista et al, 2010;Castillo-Rivera, 2013) as factors that influence the abundance of young fish in these shallow water habitats. Additionally, factors such as recruitment, competition, predation, and structural complexity are listed as ecological processes that determine the structure of these communities, so that the fish assemblages are the result of the complex interaction of abiotic and biotic factors (Mariani, 2001;Laegdsgaard & Johnson, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish assemblages along a morphodynamic continuum on three tropical beaches

Oliveira¹,

Pessanha²

2014

Neotrop. ichthyol.

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A comparative study involving three mesotidal beaches from reflective to estuarine states was conducted between October 2010 and September 2011 in the estuary of Mamanguape River, northeastern Brazil. The aim was to test for differences in fish assemblages along a morphodynamic continuum, particularly the effects of wave action. In total, 3,732 fish from 71 species were examined; Rhinosardinia bahiensis and Atherinella brasiliensis dominated the estuarine beach, whereas Trachinotus carolinus dominated the reflective beach. Fish assemblages were structured by spatial differences among the sites, and overall abundance, richness and biomass demonstrated a clear increasing trend from the reflective to the estuarine beaches, indicating a primary influence of wave exposure in the measured parameters. The Mamanguape River estuary plays a crucial ecological role as a nursery for several species that depend on its resources and have adapted to the high variability of its physical and chemical factors and the diversity of its habitats.Um estudo comparativo envolvendo três praias mesotidais do estado refletivo para o estuarino foi realizado entre outubro de 2010 e setembro de 2011 no estuário do rio Mamanguape, Nordeste do Brasil. O objetivo foi testar as diferenças nas assembleias de peixes ao longo de um continuum morfodinâmico, particularmente os efeitos da ação das ondas. No total, 3.732 peixes de 71 espécies foram examinados; Rhinosardinia bahiensis e Atherinella brasiliensis dominaram a praia estuarina, enquanto Trachinotus carolinus dominou a praia refletiva. As assembleias de peixes foram estruturadas por diferenças espaciais entre locais de amostragem, e a abundância total, riqueza e biomassa demonstraram uma clara tendência crescente da praia refletiva à praia estuarina, indicando uma influência primária de exposição às ondas nos parâmetros medidos. O estuário do rio Mamanguape desempenha um papel ecológico importante como um berçário para várias espécies que dependem de seus recursos e se adaptaram à alta variabilidade de seus fatores físico-químicos e da diversidade de seus habitats.

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Temperature and salinity as primary determinants influencing the biogeography of fishes in South African estuaries

Cited by 149 publications

References 34 publications

Exploitation of trophic resources by fish under stressful estuarine conditions

Exploitation of trophic resources by fish under stressful estuarine conditions

Detecting range shifts among Australian fishes in response to climate change

Fish assemblages along a morphodynamic continuum on three tropical beaches

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