Abstract
Today the biggest incentive to attempt the restoration and protection of estuarine systems is their widely recognized ecological and economic importance. In the reconstruction of an estuary where the original aquatic communities disappeared before the restoration interventions, the fish assemblage is an adequate source of indicators of initial recovery. Following substantial restoration efforts, this study reports on the biannual for a lustrum monitoring and assessment of a severely degraded estuary (Garrapatas) in terms of its fish assemblage using a reference estuary (Barberena) in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Twenty fishes were associated with the restoring and reference estuaries. Species composition (richness, abundance, dominance) clearly showed differences among sites. No piscivorous estuarine or marine fishes were found in Garrapatas pointing at an unbalanced and incomplete trophic chain. On the other hand, the mangrove plant community appears to have fully recovered. Water parameters were more variable in Barberena compared to the restoring sites, especially salinity, DO, and pH, which were also higher. Estuaries are transitional systems with inherent variation of abiotic parameters. It is proposed that this variability of abiotic parameters still missing in the restored sites, and may be key to the full recovery of biotic assemblages and ecosystem function.
Highlights
IntroductionEstuaries are recognized worldwide as one of the most productive ecosystems [1,2,3], as nursery and breeding habitats for marine organisms [4,5,6,7,8]), as migratory routes for either anadromous and catadromous fishes [5,9], and as permanent habitat for truly estuarine species [4,5], as well as for the critical ecosystem services they provide to humankind [10,11,12,13]
In Mexico, restoration of estuarine systems focuses on mangroves as they are distributed on about 66% of the 11,592 km of the country’s coastline [21]
Over the last two decades numerous mangrove restoration efforts have been promoted by the Mexican Federal government many of which were based on environmental compensation, and have incorporated reforestations and hydrological modifications [22]
Summary
Estuaries are recognized worldwide as one of the most productive ecosystems [1,2,3], as nursery and breeding habitats for marine organisms [4,5,6,7,8]), as migratory routes for either anadromous and catadromous fishes [5,9], and as permanent habitat for truly estuarine species [4,5], as well as for the critical ecosystem services they provide to humankind [10,11,12,13]. Restoration and protection of estuarine systems is promoted today at high legislative levels world-wide. In the United States the Estuary Restoration Act signed in 2000 made the restoration of estuarine habitats a national priority [19]. In Europe, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive has the restoration of estuarine and other coastal aquatic systems as a priority [20]. In Mexico, restoration of estuarine systems focuses on mangroves as they are distributed on about 66% of the 11,592 km of the country’s coastline [21]. Over the last two decades numerous mangrove restoration efforts have been promoted by the Mexican Federal government many of which were based on environmental compensation (mitigation), and have incorporated reforestations and hydrological modifications [22]
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