Spatial and temporal patterns of fish larvae assemblage in the Northern coastal waters of Persian Gulf along the Bushehr province shoreline

Abstract

Fish larva surveys were conducted in the coastal waters of the Persian Gulf in Bushehr province during November 2001 to October 2002. The survey covered 10 stations between Farakeh estuary to Genaveh port, aiming to identify the fish larvae, their composition, abundance, and distribution patterns in relation to the measured hydrological factors. Fish larvae belonging to 20 families were identified and counted, and the total mean abundance was calculated as 8.1844 individuals per 10 m 2 . Families Clupeidae, Gobiidae and Sillaginidae had more relative abundances respectively. Based on their distribution behavior fish larvae were allocated to three different ecological groups as: benthic, epibenthic and pelagic. During cold season benthic group was dominant and Gobiidae was the indicator and representative family, whereas in warm season pelagic group was dominant with Clupeidae as the indicator family. Principal Component Analysis with supplementary analyses revealed more correlation between Sillaginidae, Gerreidae, and Clupeidae with the dimdesc axes 1, while the composition and density of fish larvae were correlated with water depth and transparency. This correlation reduced in cold season. It appears that changes in the sea currents and local seasonal winds, were effective in the presence and abundance of fish larvae. Moreover, the spatial and temporal spawning patterns of broodstock fishes also played a key role in the composition and formation of the early larval assemblages.

Seasonal relative abundance of fish larvae in Helleh River estuary (north of the Persian Gulf, Iran)

“…Clupeidae family as a pelagic fish produces pelagic eggs and their larvae reach to the rich regions and coastal food by sea current and their presence in coastlines and estuaries can be linked with the peak period of zooplankton and phytoplankton production (Keenleyside, 1979). The community structures and temporal and spatial patterns determined in this research showed similar results with other studies in Persian Gulf region (Rabbaniha 1998, Owfi andBakhtiary 1999;Jokar and Saraji 2002;Rabbaniha et al 2013, Amini et al 2015. The studied habitats in their researches were coastal, Family estuary and creek that Clupeidae and Gobiidae were the dominant family assemblages.…”

Coral reef fish assemblages along a disturbance gradient in the northern Persian Gulf: A seasonal perspective

“…On the other hand, there has also been relatively little research dealing with seasonal changes in reef fish assemblages in the northern Gulf area, most of which is limited to artificial reefs and larval stages of fish. For example, Rabbaniha et al (2013) observed consistent seasonal trends in the ratio of pelagic/demersal reef fish larvae and linked this to changes in water column chlorophyll concentration during warm and cool seasons. However, Pourjomeh et al (2013) failed to detect such trends in composition of adult coral reef fish communities attracted to artificial reefs over the first two years of establishment and concluded that seasonal variability of reef fish assemblages may be less pronounced on younger artificial reefs.…”

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“…To evaluate the relationship between number of fish eggs and larvae with temperature, salinity, oxygen and transparency, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used and implemented in Statistica v10 Rabbania et al (2013).…”