Fish composition and assemblage structure in tropical monsoonal estuaries: Estuarine use and feeding guild approach

Abstract

The structure of fish guilds was analysed in four tropical monsoonal estuaries, namely Zuari, Mandovi, Terekhol and Kali, along India's western coast. The fish were sampled from 2017 to 2019 both temporally and spatially: temporally in three seasons, named with reference to the monsoon as before (February–May), during (June–September), and after (October–January) the monsoon and spatially from the upper, middle, and lower stretches of the estuaries. The composition of fish guilds was similar for the four estuaries but varied with the season and the location (gradient). The dominant guilds consisted of marine species, both juveniles and seasonal migrants, and carnivores and omnivores.