Influence of Rainfall Pattern in the Seasonal Variation of Fish Abundance in a Tropical Estuary with Restricted Marine Communication — Oak Academic Publishing
Research ArticleOpen AccessGoogle Scholar indexed
Influence of Rainfall Pattern in the Seasonal Variation of Fish Abundance in a Tropical Estuary with Restricted Marine Communication
Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Iztapalapa, México DF, México
1 Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Iztapalapa, México DF, México
Pueblo Viejo Lagoon is an estuary with restricted communication with the sea, so the freshwater influence tends to be more important. Therefore, the study focused on testing the hypothesis that the seasonal changes in species abundance would be mainly related to the local rainfall pattern. Monthly samplings were carried out over a one-year, using a seine net. A total of 9108 individuals were caught, corresponding to 66 species of fish, most of them with marine origin. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that the rainfall-salinity gradient was revealed to be the most important driving force in the seasonal variation of fish composition. In this way, it was observed that seasonal fluctuations in total fish number were linked to preceding fluctuations (one month) in local rainfall. Similar pattern was exhibited by the abundance of Anchoa mitchilli (the most abundant species), Oreochromis mossambicus and Ariopsis felis , and this delayed effect was significant (cross-correlation analyses). In addition, the rainfall showed a direct influence ( significant positive correlations) on abundance of D . auratus and M . martinica . The association between fish number and the rainfall regime seems to be related to lagoon productivity and the trophic responses of these species. By contrast, Brevoortia gunteri and Menidia beryllina showed an inverse correlation with rainfall. Other environmental variables (also influenced by rainfall regime) showed a significant relationship with A . hepsetus (salinity), B . chrysoura (depth) and M . curema (turbidity) . Thus, at least 12 species showed some relationship with local rainfall, which accounted for 81.27% of the total number of fish collected. Although it is difficult to separate the relative importance of physiological tolerances and biological functions such as trophic responses, the results suggest that rainfall is a primary factor governing seasonal variation in fish species abundance of Pueblo Viejo lagoon.
T. D. Harrison and A. K. Whitfield, “Temperature and Salinity as Primary Determinants Influencing the Biogeography of Fishes in South African Estuaries,” Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Vol. 66, No. 1-2, 2006, pp. 335-345. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2005.09.010
M. Castillo-Rivera, R. Zárate–Hernández, S. Ortiz-Burgos and J. Zavala-Hurtado, “Diel and Seasonal Variability in the Fish Community Structure of a Mud Bottom Estuarine Habitat in the Gulf of Mexico,” Marine Ecology, Vol. 31, No. 4, 2010, pp. 633-642. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0485.2010.00394.x
S. J. M. Blaber, D. T. Brewer and J. P. Salini, “Fish Communities and the Nursery Role of the Shallow Inshore Waters of a Tropical Bay in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia,” Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Vol. 40, No. 2, 1995, pp. 177-193. doi:10.1016/S0272-7714(05)80004-6
S. P. Griffiths, “Factors Influencing Fish Composition in an Australian Intermittently Open Estuary. Is Stability Salinity-Dependent?” Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Vol. 52, No. 6, 2001, pp. 739-751. doi:10.1006/ecss.2000.0756
E. J. Martino and K. W. Able, “Fish assemblages across the marine to low salinity transition zone of a temperate estuary,” Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Vol. 56, No. 5-6, 2003, pp. 969-987. doi:10.1016/S0272-7714(02)00305-0
M. Barletta, A. Barletta-Bergan, U. Saint-Paul and G. Hubold, “The Role of Salinity in Structuring the Fish Assemblages in a Tropical Estuary,” Journal of Fish Biology, Vol. 66, No. 1, 2005, pp. 45-72. doi:10.1111/j.0022-1112.2005.00582.x
P. B. Moyle and J. J. Cech, “Fishes: An Introduction to Ichthyology,” 5th Edition, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, 2004.
R. Zárate-Hernández, M. Castillo-Rivera, L. Sanvicente-Anorve and S. Ortiz-Burgos, “Spatial, Diel, and Seasonal Changes in the Fish Community Structure of a Mexican Tropical Estuary,” Ciencias Marinas, Vol. 38, No. 4, 2012, pp. 665-676. doi:10.7773/cm.v38i4.2018
M. Castillo-Rivera, J. A. Zavala-Hurtado and R. Zárate-Hernández, “Exploration of Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Fish Diversity and Composition in a Tropical Estuarine System of Mexico,” Review in Fish Biology and Fisheries, Vol. 12, No. 2-3, 2002, pp. 167-177. doi:10.1023/A:1025051027676
F. Contreras, “Produccion Primaria Fitoplanctonica en Lagunas Costeras,” Revista de Investigaciones Marinas, Vol. 16, No. 1, 1995, pp. 11-21.
C. J. F. ter Braak and P. F. M. Verdonschot, “Canonical Correspondence Analysis and Related Multivariate Methods in Aquatic Ecology,” Aquatic Sciences, Vol. 57, No. 3, 1995, pp. 255-289. doi:10.1007/BF00877430
K. McGarigal, S. Cushman and S. Stafford, “Multivariate Statistics for Wildlife and Ecology Research,” Springer-Verlag, New York, 2000. doi:10.1007/978-1-4612-1288-1
J. H. Zar, “Biostatistical Analysis,” 5th Edition, Prentice-Hall Pearson, New Jersey, 2010.
N. J. Gotelli and A. M. Ellison, “A Primer of Ecological Statistics,” Sinauer Associates, Massachusetts, 2004.
J. S. Nelson, “Fishes of the World,” 4th Edition, John Wiley, New York, 2006.
D. A. Methven, R. L. Haedrich and G. A. Rose, “The Fish Assemblage of a Newfoundland Estuary: Diel, Monthly, and Annual Variation,” Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Vol. 52, No. 6, 2001, pp. 669-687. doi:10.1006/ecss.2001.0768
A. M. Pessanha and F. G. Araújo, “Spatial, Temporal and Diel Variations of Fish Assemblages at Two Sandy Beaches in the Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,” Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Vol. 57, No. 5-6, 2003, pp. 817-828. doi:10.1016/S0272-7714(02)00411-0
J. O. Meynecke, S. Y. Lee, N. C. Duke and J. Warnken, “Effect of Rainfall as a Component of Climate Change on Estuarine Fish Production in Queensland, Australia,” Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Vol. 69, No. 3-4, 2006, pp. 491-504. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2006.05.011
W. J. Kimmerer, “Effects of Freshwater Flow on Abundance of Estuarine Organisms: Physical Effects or Trophic Linkages?” Marine Ecology Progress Series, Vol. 243, 2002, pp. 39-55. doi:10.3354/meps243039
T.-S. Tsou and R. E. Matheson, “Seasonal Changes in the Nekton Community of the Suwanee River Estuary and Potential Impacts of the Freshwater Withdrawal,” Estuaries, Vol. 25, No. 6, 2002, pp. 1372-1381. doi:10.1007/BF02692231
G. C. Young and I. C. Potter, “Influence of Exceptionally High Salinities, Marked Variations in Freshwater Discharge and Opening of Eestuary Mouth on the Characteristics of the Ichthyofauna of a Normally-Closed Estuary,” Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Vol. 55, No. 2, 2002, pp. 223-246. doi:10.1006/ecss.2001.0899
R. Thiel, A. Sepúlveda, R. Kafemann and W. Nellen, “Environmental Factors as Forces Structuring the Fish Community of the Elbe Estuary,” Journal of Fish Biology, Vol. 46, No. 1, 1995, pp. 47-69. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.1995.tb05946.x
S. M. Hagan and K. W. Able, “Seasonal Changes of the Pelagic Fish Assemblage in a Temperate Estuary,” Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Vol. 56, No. 1, 2003, pp. 15-29. doi:10.1016/S0272-7714(02)00116-6
P. D. Vorwerk, A. K. Whitfield, P. D. Cowley and A. W. Paterson, “The Influence of Selected Environmental Variables on Fish Assemblage Structure in a Range of Southeast African Estuaries,” Environmental Biology of Fishes, Vol. 66, No. 3, 2003, pp. 237-247. doi:10.1023/A:1023922521835
N. C. James, A. K. Whitfield and P. D. Cowley, “Long-Term Stability of the Fish Assemblages in a Warm-Temperate South African Estuary,” Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Vol. 76, No. 4, 2008, pp. 723-738. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2007.07.036
M. Castillo-Rivera M., M. Montiel, L. Sanvicente-Anorve and R. Zárate-Hernández, “Spatial, Seasonal and Diel Distribution Patterns of Two Species of Mojarras (Pisces: Gerreidae) in a Mexican Tropical Coastal Lagoon,” Journal of Applied Ichthyology, Vol. 21, No. 6, 2005, pp. 498-503. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0426.2005.00661.x
R. S. K. Barnes and R. N. Hughes, “An Introduction to Marine Ecology,” 3rd Edition, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, 1999. doi:10.1002/9781444313284
M. Castillo-Rivera, G. Moreno and R. Iniestra, “Spatial, Seasonal, and Diel Variation in Abundance of the Bay Anchovy, Anchoa mitchilli (Teleostei: Engraulidae), in a Tropical Coastal Lagoon of Mexico,” The Southwestern Naturalist, Vol. 39, No. 3, 1994, pp. 263-268. doi:10.2307/3671591
M. Castillo-Rivera and R. Zárate, “Patrones Espacio-Temporales de la Abundancia de Peces en la Laguna de Pueblo Viejo, Veracruz,” Hidrobiologica, Vol. 11, No. 1, 2001, pp. 75-84.
M. Castillo-Rivera, “Biologia Trofica de Peces Costeros. Estuarios del Golfo de México Occidental,” Editorial Académica Espanola, LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing GMBH & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, 2011.
T. Madurell, J. E. Cartes and M. Labropoulou, “Changes in the Structure of Fish Assemblages in a Bathyal Site of the Ionian Sea (Eastern Mediterranean),” Fisheries Research, Vol. 66, No. 2-3, 2004, pp. 245-260. doi:10.1016/S0165-7836(03)00205-4