Temporal dynamics of fish assemblages of natural and artificial tropical estuaries

Sheaves, Marcus; Johnston, Ross; Connolly, Rod M.

doi:10.3354/meps08655

Cited by 41 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Yet, while species clearly de pend on these habitats during juvenile life stages, this does not imply that all nearshore habitats function equally in their nursery potential (Gillanders et al 2003, Sheaves 2005, Sheaves et al 2010, Kimirei et al 2011, Huijbers et al 2013). The present study re vealed high 233 Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demography of fish populations reveals new challenges in appraising juvenile habitat values

Kimirei¹,

Nagelkerken

Slooter³

et al. 2015

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Understanding the 'value' of nursery habitats is increasingly perceived as essential to conservation management of marine ecosystems globally. Yet, most work on this topic has assumed that population dynamics are temporally and spatially static, which clearly oversimplifies some highly complex and integral ecological processes. We used size-frequency data of fish species from mangrove and seagrass habitats collected at various locations over a > 2 yr period to explore demographic structure and variability along with potential factors (such as growth, food abundance, and relative predation risk) that might encourage such variability. While demographics were skewed predominantly towards juveniles, older fish (up to 13 yr) were regularly observed in some mangroves or seagrass beds, indicating relatively complex population demographics. Juvenile habitats varied substantially in both prey abundance and relative predation risk -an effect that appeared to give rise to habitat-specific differences in somatic growth rates and fish densities. Fish population size structure was further related to position within the seascape, suggesting complex spatial dynamics in the production of fish biomass. Our results demonstrate that effectively appraising juvenile habitats will be a more convoluted process than previously thought, as greater integration is needed between basic ecological processes (e.g. predation risk and food availability) and population demography. Whereas current approaches often identify and manage single, complete nursery habitats based on those that contribute most individuals to adult populations, our study shows that a more dynamic and spatially-explicit management approach is needed, as nurseries have divergent benefits for separate life stages, species, and locations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demography of fish populations reveals new challenges in appraising juvenile habitat values

Kimirei¹,

Nagelkerken

Slooter³

et al. 2015

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…In the study area, and evaluating the abundance of T. lanceolata was difficult because the species has dramatically declined over the past few decades. Thus, to obtain the reliable presence/absence data for T. lanceolata and other fish, we combined several general methods of fish sampling: minnow traps, cast-nets, electroshocker, and hand-nets (Katano et al, 2006;Kitamura, 2007;Sheaves et al, 2010). First, four baited minnow traps (length 50 cm, width 25 cm, height 25 cm, and 4-mm mesh) were set on the bottom substrate at 5-m intervals along the bank for 1 h, and a cast-net (2-m radius with 5-mm mesh) was thrown at least three times.…”

Section: Fish Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors affecting the local occurrence of the near-threatened bitterling (Tanakia lanceolata) in agricultural canal networks: strong attachment to its potential host mussels

et al. 2011

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Ecologically specialized species may be more susceptible to anthropogenic impacts than generalist species. Japan's native bitterlings (subfamily Acheilognathinae), which are specialized to spawn on the gills of certain freshwater mussels, have been declining dramatically during the last few decades. To identify factors affecting the local occurrence of the threatened bitterling species Tanakia lanceolata, we measured its presence and absence, along with several environmental factors, at 68 sites within agricultural canal networks in the Lake Mikata basin, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. Based on the theoretical information approach of Akaike's information criterion, generalized linear mixed models were constructed. These revealed that the species' occurrence is strongly affected by five major factors: the presence of freshwater mussels Anodonta sp., water depth, floating plants coverage, the presence of bullfrogs, and submerged plants coverage. The probability of the presence of T. lanceolata was higher at shallower sites with lower floating plants coverage, located within channels containing mussel beds. These results suggest that mussel-containing channel systems are high-priority conservation zones for T. lanceolata.

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“…Final tree models were selected based on a scree plot of explained variance, with tree size pruned at the point where the proportion of variance explained began to noticeably tail off. mCART analysis is accepted as a simple and robust technique for modelling ecological data (De'ath & Fabricius 2000) and has been used previously to explain nekton assemblage structure (Sheaves et al 2010). Initially, a tree was constructed using pool codes (consisting of network and pool number; see Fig.…”

Section: Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seascape and metacommunity processes regulate fish assemblage structure in coastal wetlands

Davis¹,

Sheaves²

2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Faunal complexity is an impediment to understanding the function of fragmented coastal wetlands. Conceiving faunal communities as part of a larger network of communities (or a metacommunity) helps to resolve this complexity by enabling simultaneous consideration of local environmental influences and 'regional' dispersal-driven processes. We assessed the role of local vs. regional factors on the fish assemblage structure of a wetland system comprising 20 tidal pools. In equivalent freshwater metacommunities, regional factors often override local influences, resulting in patterns of nestedness among patches as species and individuals are progressively filtered out along gradients of isolation. While the tidal pool assemblage was primarily structured by regional processes, patterns deviated from freshwater systems, as 2 faunal groups exhibited contrasting responses to tidal connectivity. A subset of typical estuary channel fauna was restricted to better connected pools at lower elevations, which connect to the estuary channel or other pools on most neap high tides. Frequent connections among these pools subsequently enabled sorting of species relative to preferred environmental condition (including depth and substrate). Contradicting models of nestedness, a distinct faunal group including salt marsh residents and juvenile marine-spawned taxa occurred in greater abundances in more isolated, higher elevation pools, which connect to the estuary channel or other pools only on larger spring high tides. These higher elevation pools represent a functionally unique seascape component, and colonisation by marinespawned taxa seems to reflect an innate drive to ascend upstream gradients to access them. This illustrates how seemingly similar patches within coastal wetlands may perform considerably different nursery functions because of their position in the landscape. Together, metacommunity and seascape frameworks offer complementary perspectives in understanding the role of spatial ecology in structuring coastal ecosystem function and productivity.

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Temporal dynamics of fish assemblages of natural and artificial tropical estuaries

Cited by 41 publications

References 40 publications

Demography of fish populations reveals new challenges in appraising juvenile habitat values

Demography of fish populations reveals new challenges in appraising juvenile habitat values

Factors affecting the local occurrence of the near-threatened bitterling (Tanakia lanceolata) in agricultural canal networks: strong attachment to its potential host mussels

Seascape and metacommunity processes regulate fish assemblage structure in coastal wetlands

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