Giarrizzo, Tommaso and Krumme, Uwe (2007) Spatial differences and seasonal cyclicity in the intertidal fish fauna from four mangrove creeks in a salinity zone of the Curuçá Estuary, North Brazil. Bulletin of Marine Science, 80 (3). pp. 739-754.

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Abstract

Intertidal creeks are vital component of the mangrove forest. They serve as hydrological connectors between the subtidal area and the mangrove interior and provide important temporary foraging grounds for juvenile fishes. In the large estuarine mangrove areas of the tropics, intertidal creeks can be found in different zones of salinity ranging from low salinity environments at the head, to high salinity environments at the mouth of the estuary. Mangrove creeks in different estuarine salinity zones may vary in their importance as nurseries for juvenile fishes. To test for such a longitudinal relationship, however, variability in fish habitat use in intertidal creeks located in the same salinity zone must be better understood to avoid attributing creek variations to salinity dynamics.
Typically, most fish fauna studies from tropical intertidal mangrove creeks compare this habitat with other estuarine habitats (e.g., Blaber et al., 1989; Robertson and Duke, 1990; Leh and Sasekumar, 1991; Sasekumar et al., 1992; Ikejima et al., 2003), or only analyze temporal patterns (e.g., Wright, 1986; Batista and Rego, 1996; Laroche et al., 1997). Studies on spatial variation of tropical intertidal fish assemblages are less common and have been usually either carried out on a small scale [< 2 km between sites, e.g., Barletta et al. (2003) and Krumme et al. (2004)], or on a large scale [e.g., about 20 km between sites, Vidy et al. (2004)]. Information is lacking on the inter-creek variability of fish habitat use on a medium spatial scale (2–20 km), where the estuarine salinity zones are usually located.
To better understand medium scale differences in juvenile fish habitat use, we studied the fish assemblages of four intertidal mangrove creeks separated by just 4 km and located in the same salinity zone. The study was carried out in the macrotidal Curuca estuary, a conservation unit located close (50 km) to the southern channel of the Amazon mouth (Fig. 1). The specific objectives of our study were to (1) describe the composition and seasonal changes of the intertidal fish assemblages, and (2) compare density and biomass of juvenile fishes (as a measure of habitat quality) among the four creeks located in the same salinity zone.

Document Type:	Article
Programme Area:	PA Not Applicable
Research affiliation:	Ecology > Fisheries Biology
Refereed:	Yes
Open Access Journal?:	No
ISSN:	00074977
Date Deposited:	28 Feb 2020 12:35
Last Modified:	02 Oct 2025 11:00
URI:	https://cris.leibniz-zmt.de/id/eprint/3472

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