Diel and tidal periodicity in the responses of early life stages of marine fishes to an estuary opening event in temperate South Africa

Abstract

Early life stages of fish were monitored in a breach channel during an opening event of the temporarily open/closed East Kleinemonde Estuary. For comparison, early life stages were also collected in the surf zone and estuary mouth region before, during and after the breaching event on a weekly basis. The breach channel was sampled day and night at each midtide state for five consecutive days using a larval fish seine net (mesh 500 µm). Catch per unit effort (CPUE) of mostly postflexion stage larvae increased in the surf zone during opening events with a concomitant peak in abundance in the breach channel. Catch composition included many estuarine associated species typically found in temporarily open/closed estuaries. Predominantly postflexion stage larvae and newly settled juveniles were caught. No overall patterns of diel and tidal use across species were found in the breach channel suggesting some degree of plasticity in recruitment that could be opportunistically driven for most species. However, for the abundant Rhabdosargus holubi (Sparidae), nocturnal flood tides were favoured for movement into the estuary. Natural estuary opening events, especially during peak rainfall in the recruitment season are critical to the early life history strategy of estuary-associated marine fish species.