Functional diversity in European estuaries: Relating the composition of fish assemblages to the abiotic environment

Abstract

Based on a large standardised data set, the present study proposed a meta-analysis to describe general patterns in the functional diversity of estuarine fish assemblage in terms of both number of species and density along the European Atlantic coast. Fish species collected from 31 European estuaries from Portugal to Scotland were allocated to functional groups according to their ecological utilization of estuaries. A clustering analysis was performed to compare the overall functional structure of estuaries based on fish composition. Generalised linear models were computed to identify relationships between large-scale abiotic and intra-estuarine descriptors and functional attributes of estuarine fish assemblages. The total number of species, and more especially of marine species, was higher in larger estuaries with a wide entrance and, locally, in polyhaline waters. The total density was mainly related to the proportion of intertidal mudflats and, locally, was greater in mesohaline waters. In terms of relative density, northern systems were dominated by marine and catadromous species, while estuarine species were prevalent in the southern ones. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Difference in responses of two coastal species to fluctuating salinities and temperatures: Potential modification of specific distribution areas in the context of global change

“…In particular, adults and juveniles European seabass perform daily tidal migrations from marine to estuarine waters for feeding (Laf-faille et al, 2001a;. A lack of study and knowledge about thicklip mullets Chelon labrosus has led to no clear evidence for them having similar behaviour, but their presence during flood tides and at low salinity in several estuaries and marshes supports this hypothesis (Gautier and Hussenot, 2005;Lasserre and Gallis, 1975;Nicolas et al, 2010;Feunteun et al, 1999). According to the literature, these two species have similar osmoregulation capacity (Gautier and Hussenot, 2005;Sanchez Vazquez and Munoz-Cueto, 2014) despite belonging to different ecological guilds; thus, their specific responses to salinity and temperature and by extension to climate change can be contrasted.…”

“…The European seabass Dicentrarchus labrax is one of the most numerous of species in estuaries (Nicolas et al, 2010) and is described as a marine juvenile migrant (Elliott and Dewailly, 1995). This species is very common and widespread along European and North African coastal areas.…”

“…Each year, young seabass colonise supratidal and intertidal marsh creeks and subtidal and intertidal flats to feed (Laffaille et al, 2001a). Grey mullets, although less abundant in estuaries (Nicolas et al, 2010), also have a key role and are described as marine seasonal migrants.…”

“…Although there are about 200 European estuarine fish species (Elliott and Dewailly, 1995), the assemblages are often reduced and limited to the same main species (Nicolas et al, 2010;Maitland and Lyle, 1991). These species are divided into different ecological guilds (Elliott and Dewailly, 1995), including marine seasonal migrants and marine juvenile migrants likely to be able to cope with tidal salinity changes.…”

Using Movements and Habitat Utilization as a Functional Metric of Restoration for Estuarine Juvenile Fish Habitat

“…However, the long-term (>10-year) recovery rates of fish populations in restoration projects are still poorly understood (Zedler 1996). The limited availability of natural, unaltered estuaries to use as reference sites, along with habitat design differences between sites, make it difficult to quantify the postrestoration rates of ecological recovery (Zedler and Langis 1991;Zedler 1996;Nicolas et al 2010aNicolas et al , 2010b.…”