Infralittoral fish assemblages in the Zrmanja estuary, Adriatic Sea

Autor: Matić-Skoko, S., Melita Peharda, Pallaoro, A., Cukrov, M., Baždarić, B.
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2007
Předmět:
Zdroj: ResearcherID
Scopus-Elsevier
Popis: The infralittoral fish assemblage was investigated inside a temperate Zrmanja river estuary, Adriatic Sea. The specimens were caught using a beach seine at three stations and four times over the year. Total of 47 species, belonging to 17 families were represented in the catch, out of these Atherina boyeri (60.3%), Symphodus ocellatus (14.4%) and Pomatoschistus marmoratus (7.5%) were most abundant, comprising 82.2% of the total catch. Marine and estuarine species represented 89.6 and 10.4 %, respectively, while freshwater species were not observed in samples. Differences in fish assemblages were observed with respect to sampling dates and station mostly due different temporal and spatial distribution of juvenile fish settlers. Juveniles of open sea spawners (L. mormyrus, P. erythrinus) were found with increased distance from the river mouth. As they progressively grow, they disperse throughout the estuary. Juveniles of resident species (Pomatoshistus sp.) stayed closer to the river mouth. Permanent estuary residents comprised 11 species, 33 species were opportunists and the remaining 3 were transients. The data thus show that in even small temperate estuaries characteristics of river inflow have the potential to alter spatio-temporal patterns in infralittoral fish assemblage.
Databáze: OpenAIRE