Trophic relationships in the community of the upper Tagus estuary (Portugal): A preliminary approach

Moreira, Francisco; Assis, Carlos A.; Almeida, Pedro R.; Costa, José Lino; Costa, María José

doi:10.1016/s0272-7714(05)80066-6

Cited by 44 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Within any given observed size, the grass gobies had a higher mean predation rate, which indicates that chase-attack by the black goby has lower capture success for small/juvenile fish under the experimental conditions. This finding is consistent with the scarcity of literature reports of piscivory in the black goby in nature (Moreira et al, 1992;Labropoulou et al, 1998).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Frequency and success of ambush and chase predation in fish assemblages associated with seagrass and bare sediment in an Adriatic lagoon

Schultz

Kruschel

2010

Hydrobiologia

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Predation of fish assemblages in seagrass meadows was examined in the field and in tank experiments. Lure trolling indicated that (1) total abundance of fish was higher on bare sediment where small fish (\5 cm), including juveniles, predominated; (2) abundance was lowest in seagrass where large fish ([15 cm) predominated; (3) large ambush predators, primarily the grass goby and European eel, were almost completely restricted to seagrass; (4) the predation mode in seagrass was almost entirely ambushing or stalk-attacking, while the predation mode on bare sediment was almost entirely chaseattacking; (5) ambush predation was far more successful than chase-attack predation; and (6) overall predation risk was approximately three times higher in seagrass. Tank experiments showed that piscivory success of the grass goby was higher than that of the most common chase-attacker, the black goby, and the presence or absence of artificial seagrass, regardless of density, had no significant effect on predation success of either species. Guts of the grass goby contained food items of a wider size range that averaged twice the size of those of the black goby. Our results confirm our prediction that the risk of predation, especially of small/juvenile fish, is higher in seagrass meadows than at adjacent bare substrate, and this risk differential is explained by the presence of larger, more efficient ambush predators restricted to seagrass, and the scarcity of large chaseattack predators in the Novigrad Sea.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Frequency and success of ambush and chase predation in fish assemblages associated with seagrass and bare sediment in an Adriatic lagoon

Schultz

Kruschel

2010

Hydrobiologia

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“…Sardina pilchardus (j) (Drake & Arias, 1991;Moreira et al, 1992;Hostens & Mees, 1999;Mathieson et al, 2000). It agrees with the hypothesis that, although the fish species composition may differ considerably between estuaries, the basic trophic structure within them is generally very similar (Elliott et al, 2002).…”

Section: Engraulis Encrasicolus (P)supporting

confidence: 85%

A multivariate approach to the feeding habits of small fishes in the Guadalquivir Estuary

Baldoa

Drake

2002

Journal of Fish Biology

107

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In the analysis of the feeding habits of the 11 most abundant fish species in the Guadalquivir Estuary, collected monthly (February 1998 to January 1999) at two different sampling sites, a total of 46 prey taxa were identified. Classifications (based on Bray-Curtis similarities derived from occurrence, number and mass data) of the different fish categories (postlarvae and juvenile-adults of each species) revealed two main trophic guilds, whose preferential prey (SIMPER analysis) were mysids and copepods, respectively. The similarity matrices derived from occurrence, number and mass data were always significantly correlated (RELATE: r>0·636; P<0·01), indicating that a good agreement in feeding patterns emerged from these variables. The seasonal coincidence of maximal fish and key-prey species densities suggests that food availability may be a principal factor influencing the nursery function of the Guadalquivir Estuary.

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“…Pomatoschistus minutus is among the most abundant fish species of coastal waters of western Europe (Costa and Cabral, 1999), and occurs frequently at high densities in a large European intertidal salt marsh (Laffaille et al, 2000a;Salgado et al, 2004). The sand goby is an important prey for fish-eating vertebrates (Moreira et al, 1992;Hamerlynck and Cattrijsse, 1994). Dicentrarchus labrax is one of the most abundant commercial species of the Atlantic coast and in the Mont-Saint-Michel Bay (Laffaille et al, 2000a), where young fish, especially young of the year (0C), exploit tidal salt marshes (Laffaille et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the invasive plant Elymus athericus modify fish diet in tidal salt marshes?

Laffaille

Pétillon

Parlier

et al. 2005

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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International audienceThe invasion of Mont-Saint-Michel Bay salt marshes (France) by a grass species (Elymus athericus) has led to important changes in vegetation cover, which is likely to modify the habitat for many invertebrates. Some of them constitute the main food items for several fish species, such as young sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus), that feed in salt marsh creeks during high tides. As a result, fish nursery functions of salt marshes could be modified by the E. athericus invasion. In order to test this hypothesis, gut contents of the two most abundant fish species (sea bass and sand goby) were compared before and after E. athericus invasion in the same salt marsh creek and using the same methodology. The accessibility and availability of the main food item, the semi-terrestrial amphipod Orchestia gammarella, were estimated and compared between invaded (dominated by E. athericus) and original areas (dominated by Atriplex portulacoides). Gut content analysis showed a significantly greater percentage of fish leaving with empty guts from E. athericus areas than from A. portulacoides areas. The sea bass diet composition study showed a major shift in the relative importance of the main food items: before E. athericus invasion, diets were dominated by the semi-terrestrial species O. gammarella, whereas after the E. athericus invasion they were dominated by a marine mysid Neomysis integer. The same trend was found for sand gobies, with a shift of the main food item from O. gammarella before invasion to the polychaete Hediste diversicolor after invasion. These trophic changes may be explained by the lower accessibility and availability of O. gammarella in invaded communities than in natural ones. The E. athericus invasion, observed throughout northern Europe, is thus likely to disturb trophic function of natural salt marshes for fish. This preliminary study of the E. athericus invasion is also an illustration that invasive species are an urgent problem in conservation biology

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Trophic relationships in the community of the upper Tagus estuary (Portugal): A preliminary approach

Cited by 44 publications

References 4 publications

Frequency and success of ambush and chase predation in fish assemblages associated with seagrass and bare sediment in an Adriatic lagoon

Frequency and success of ambush and chase predation in fish assemblages associated with seagrass and bare sediment in an Adriatic lagoon

A multivariate approach to the feeding habits of small fishes in the Guadalquivir Estuary

Does the invasive plant Elymus athericus modify fish diet in tidal salt marshes?

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