Abstract
The loss of mangrove areas due to anthropogenic activities has triggered efforts to recover or restore these ecosystems, their functions, and associated diversity. Such functions include nursery areas and energy flow through trophic relationships for a large variety of inhabitant species (e.g., fish). The food webs and trophic dynamics of estuarine fish provide important information on the food resources in mangrove ecosystems and their response to restoration processes. Nonetheless, few studies focus on using fish feeding characteristics as an approximation to assess the conservation or recovery status of these aquatic ecosystems. Thus, the aim of the present study was to compare the trophic dynamics of an ichthyic community in a mangrove ecosystem related to karstic wetlands in the Mexican–Caribbean using freshwater, estuarine, and marine fish species as bioindicators of the restoration process in mangroves. Stomach contents were analyzed for eight species of fish inhabiting specific mangrove zones (1—conserved zone, and 2—restored zone; a zone exposed to ecological restoration processes due to impacts of anthropic activities) related to karstic wetlands in the Mexican–Caribbean. Four feeding characteristics were considered: trophic guild, trophic level, feeding strategy, and prey abundance. Results showed differences and changes in the use of food sources at the trophic level mainly for Floridichthys polyommus, changing from a secondary consumer in the conserved zones to a primary consumer in the restored zones. This suggests that the feeding characteristics of the inhabiting fish are related to the mangrove’s conservation/restoration status and the trophic dynamics in the community. The results of this study are relevant as a tool for mangrove restoration plans regarding the analysis of fish and their food prey, in order to perform an easy and rapid assessment to determine the conservation/restoration status of these aquatic ecosystems from a functional perspective.
Highlights
Worldwide, mangroves are coastal ecosystems that are distributed in tropical and subtropical zones; they provide many ecosystem services such as water filtration, carbon storage, and coastline maintenance as a buffer to the impact of hurricanes and tides (Nagelkerken et al, 2008; Twilley and Day, 2013)
The diet regarding the marine species in its juvenile stage, A. stipes fed primarily on decapod larvae and copepods, with no significant differences in its diet between zones (ANOSIM R = 0.119, p = 0.08)
The feeding of the mojarras E. gula was based on microcrustaceans and insects in both zones (ANOSIM R = 0.13, p = 0.06), whereas G. cinereus fed on microcrustaceans and mollusks (ANOSIM R = −0.05, p = 0.82); none of the two species presented differences between the conserved and restored zones
Summary
Mangroves are coastal ecosystems that are distributed in tropical and subtropical zones; they provide many ecosystem services such as water filtration, carbon storage, and coastline maintenance as a buffer to the impact of hurricanes and tides (Nagelkerken et al, 2008; Twilley and Day, 2013). Even when the ecological relevance of mangrove areas is acknowledged, these ecosystems are the most threatened by anthropic activities (Twilley and Day, 2013; Hamilton and Casey, 2016). The accelerated reduction in mangrove areas has led to the implementation of different conservation and restoration efforts, with the objective of maintaining ecosystem functions at the local, regional, and global scale (FAO, 2007). Mangrove restoration activities are based on recovering hydrologic processes and substrate retention through reforestation. The biotic interactions that include vertebrates (e.g., fish and birds), invertebrates (e.g., crustaceans and insects), primary producers (e.g., algae and plants), and food webs reflect the restoration progress of ecosystem functions in less time (Bosire et al, 2008)
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