Estuarine Fish Feeding Changes as Indicator to Mangrove Restoration Success in Seasonal Karstic Wetlands

Abstract

The loss of mangrove areas due to anthropogenic activities has triggered efforts to recover or restore these ecosystems, their functions, and associated diversity. Such functions include nursery areas and energy flow through trophic relationships for a large variety of inhabitant species (e.g., fish). The food webs and trophic dynamics of estuarine fish provide important information on the food resources in mangrove ecosystems and their response to restoration processes. Nonetheless, few studies focus on using fish feeding characteristics as an approximation to assess the conservation or recovery status of these aquatic ecosystems. Thus, the aim of the present study was to compare the trophic dynamics of an ichthyic community in a mangrove ecosystem related to karstic wetlands in the Mexican–Caribbean using freshwater, estuarine, and marine fish species as bioindicators of the restoration process in mangroves. Stomach contents were analyzed for eight species of fish inhabiting specific mangrove zones (1—conserved zone, and 2—restored zone; a zone exposed to ecological restoration processes due to impacts of anthropic activities) related to karstic wetlands in the Mexican–Caribbean. Four feeding characteristics were considered: trophic guild, trophic level, feeding strategy, and prey abundance. Results showed differences and changes in the use of food sources at the trophic level mainly for Floridichthys polyommus, changing from a secondary consumer in the conserved zones to a primary consumer in the restored zones. This suggests that the feeding characteristics of the inhabiting fish are related to the mangrove’s conservation/restoration status and the trophic dynamics in the community. The results of this study are relevant as a tool for mangrove restoration plans regarding the analysis of fish and their food prey, in order to perform an easy and rapid assessment to determine the conservation/restoration status of these aquatic ecosystems from a functional perspective.

Kebiasaan Makanan Beberapa Jenis Ikan di Ekosistem Mangrove Lubuk Kertang, Sumatera Utara

“…Analisis kebiasaan makanan dilakukan karena dapat sebagai salah satu alat ukur kualitas habitat sebagi bagian dari program pemantauan dan restorasi yang komprehensif (Ley et al, 1994). Analisis ini jika dilakukan dengan detail akan memberikan informasi yang lengkap (Baker et al, 2014) Selain itu status restorasi mangrove berdasarkan perspektif fungsional dapat diketahui dengan analisis ikan dan mangsa makanannya (Hernández-Mendoza et al, 2022). Kebiasaan makanan jenis ikan penting diketahui karena dapat mengungkap jenis makanan dan kebiasaan makanan ikan yang merupakan inti penelitian biologi akuatik, ekologi, biologi konservasi dan perikanan (Saikia 2015) Pengetahuan tentang kebiasaan makanan dapat juga digunakan untuk mengetahui aliran energi pada tingkat trofik (Qosim 1972), hubungan trofik kumpulan ikan (Ramirez-Luna, et al, 2008), Kebiasaan makanan dapat diuji dengan melakukan analisis isi lambung, menurut Zagars et al, (2013) analisis isi lambung mampu menilai perilaku makanan ikan dan ketergantungan trofik pada produsen utama.…”

Sequencing Bait: Nuclear and Mitogenome Assembly of an Abundant Coastal Tropical and Subtropical Fish,Atherinomorus stipes

“…Here, we apply ONT genome assembly and lcWGS to better understand the ecology and population genetics of an abundant tropical and subtropical fish, the hardhead silverside ( Atherinomorus stipes ). This species is often included in ecosystem models and ecological surveys ( Ley et al 1999 ; Vaslet et al 2015 ) and may be impacted by anthropogenic habitat alterations ( Hernández-Mendoza et al 2022 ). They are prey for several piscivorous fishes and form large schools in shallow reefs, coastal mangroves, and seagrass meadows in west Atlantic waters from Bermuda to southern Florida and Brazil.…”