Abstract
The fish community that inhabits shallow littoral areas of the Mar Menor coastal lagoon was studied seasonally. Three different habitat types were compared: deep sandy habitats, vegetated habitats and shallow muddy habitats. The results indicated that the dominant fish families in the lagoon were Mugilidae, Gobiidae, Sparidae and Atherinidae. In general, vegetated habitats and shallow muddy habitats showed higher fish abundance, biomass and fish diversity than deep sandy habitats. Moreover, fish community structure differed significantly among habitats. Vegetated habitats and shallow muddy habitats seems to play an important nursery role, mainly for marine migrant species of the Mugilidae and Sparidae families, and constituted essential habitats for species of conservationist interest such Aphanius iberus and Syngnathus abaster. Deep sandy habitats were dominated by the resident goby Pomatoschistus marmoratus. These habitat-related differences are probably related to variations in structural complexity.
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
