Importance of Mangroves, Seagrass Beds and the Shallow Coral Reef as a Nursery for Important Coral Reef Fishes, Using a Visual Census Technique

doi:10.1006/ecss.2000.0617

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

Volume 51, Issue 1, July 2000, Pages 31-44

https://doi.org/10.1006/ecss.2000.0617 Get rights and content

Abstract

The nursery function of various biotopes for coral reef fishes was investigated on Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. Length and abundance of 16 commercially important reef fish species were determined by means of visual censuses during the day in six different biotopes: mangrove prop-roots (Rhizophora mangle) and seagrass beds (Thalassia testudinum) in Lac Bay, and four depth zones on the coral reef (0 to 3 m, 3 to 5 m, 10 to 15 m and 15 to 20 m). The mangroves, seagrass beds and shallow coral reef (0 to 3 m) appeared to be the main nursery biotopes for the juveniles of the selected species. Mutual comparison between biotopes showed that the seagrass beds were the most important nursery biotope for juvenile Haemulon flavolineatum, H. sciurus, Ocyurus chrysurus, Acanthurus chirurgus and Sparisoma viride, the mangroves for juvenile Lutjanus apodus, L. griseus,Sphyraena barracuda and Chaetodon capistratus, and the shallow coral reef for juvenile H. chrysargyreum,L. mahogoni , A. bahianus and Abudefduf saxatilis. Juvenile Acanthurus coeruleus utilized all six biotopes, while juvenile H. carbonarium and Anisotremus surinamensis were not observed in any of the six biotopes. Although fishes showed a clear preference for a specific nursery biotope, most fish species utilized multiple nursery biotopes simultaneously. The almost complete absence of juveniles on the deeper reef zones indicates the high dependence of juveniles on the shallow water biotopes as a nursery. For most fish species an (partial) ontogenetic shift was observed at a particular life stage from their (shallow) nursery biotopes to the (deeper) coral reef. Cluster analyses showed that closely related species within the families Haemulidae, Lutjanidae and Acanthuridae, and the different size classes within species in most cases had a spatial separation in biotope utilization.

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Regular ArticleImportance of Mangroves, Seagrass Beds and the Shallow Coral Reef as a Nursery for Important Coral Reef Fishes, Using a Visual Census Technique

Abstract

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

A survey of the ichtyofauna of the mangroves of western Puerto Rico during December, 1967–August, 1968

Caribbean Journal of Science

Differences in the structures of fish assemblages in Thalassia testudinum beds in Guadeloupe, French West Indies, and their ecological significance

Marine Biology

Abundance of macrofauna in dense seagrass is due to habitat preference, not predation

Oecologia

Structure of a fish community in a temperate tidal mangrove creek in Botany Bay, New South Wales

Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research

Ecological interactions between mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs

Fish of the Trinity inlet system of north Queensland with notes on the ecology of fish faunas of tropical Indo-Pacific estuaries

Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research

Fish and Fisheries of Tropical Estuaries

Factors affecting the distribution of juvenile estuarine and inshore fish

Journal of Fish Biology

Species composition, community structure and zoogeography of fishes of mangrove estuaries in the Solomon Islands

Marine Biology

Food habits of juvenile marine fishes occupying seagrass beds in the estuarine zone near Crystal River, Florida

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society

Comparing visual counts of coral reef fish: implications of transect width and species selection

Marine Ecology Progress Series

Systematics and life-history of the great barracuda Sphyraena barracuda (Walbaum)

Studies in Tropical Oceanography

Survey Manual for Tropical Marine Resources. ASEAN-Australia Marine Science Project: Living Coastal Resources

The drop-net quadrat, a new population sampling device

Publications of the Institute for Marine Science of the University of Texas

The fish community of an East African mangrove creek

Journal of Fish Biology

Resource use by five sympatric parrotfishes in the San Blas Archipelago, Panama

Marine Biology

Observations on recruitment in haemulid fishes

Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute

Community structure, density and standing crop of fishes in a subtropical Australian mangrove area

Marine Biology

Caribbean coral reef fishery resources

ICLARM studies and reviews

On the occurrence of fishes in relation to corals in Curaçao

Studies on the Fauna of Curaçao and other Caribbean Islands

Day-night shifts of fishes between shallow-water biotopes of a Caribbean bay, with emphasis on the nocturnal feeding of Haemulidae and Lutjanidae

Marine Ecology Progress Series

Trophic analyses of an estuarine mangrove community

Bulletin of Marine Science

The behavior of heterotypic resting schools of juvenile grunts (Pomadasyidae)

Marine Biology

Regular Article
Importance of Mangroves, Seagrass Beds and the Shallow Coral Reef as a Nursery for Important Coral Reef Fishes, Using a Visual Census Technique