Abstract
We investigated the relationship between environmental variables as descriptors of the fish community, in terms of species diversity indices and fish assemblage patterns, in seagrass meadows at Sikao Bay, Trang Province, Thailand. Fish data and water quality parameters were collected from January to December 2012. A total of 10,596 fish specimens of 97 taxa in 48 families from four stations, Kham Bay (7°30'9.21''N, 99°18'7.67''E), Boonkong Bay (7°31'2.49''N, 99°17'40.09''E), Ban Pak Klong (7°36'17.67''N, 99°16'32.89''E) and Sai Cape (7°38'30.19''N, 99°14'49.85''E), were collected using gillnets of three different mesh sizes. The three most diverse families were Leiognathidae, Carangidae and Tetraodontidae, respectively. The dominant species were Atherinomorus duodecimalis, Sillago sihama and Pelates quadrilineatus. Specimens were highly abundant in July and less so in January and species richness was high in July and less so in March. Fish assemblages were classified into two patterns and the average of the Shannon index was 2.7. The environmental parameters in each month were analyzed by one-way ANOVA which did not show significant difference (P > 0.05) of pH, orthophosphate, wind speed and rainfall. Fish diversity and assemblage, and environmental parameters, were categorized into four groups. These could be promoted to local fisheries so that conservation programs cpuld be set up to ensure the ecological sustainability of seagrass meadows.
Highlights
Seagrass meadows are considered a valuable component of coastal ecosystems, as they are an important habitat for numerous fish, invertebrates and other animals, perform different ecological functions and act as environmental reserves
Leiognathidae was the most abundant with eight species (15%) (Leiognathus stercorarius, L. jonesi, L. decorus, L. equulus, L. fasciatus, L. splendens, Secutor insidiator and Gazza minuta). This was followed by seven species (13%) of Carangidae (Alepes kleinii, Carangoides praeustus, Megalaspis cordyla, Scomberoides lysan, Siganus commersonnianus, Decapterus kurroides and Caranx sexfasciatus) and seven species (13%) of Tetraodontidae (Tetraodon fluviatilis, T. palembangensis, T. nigroviridis, Lagocephalus spadiceus, L. lunaris, Chelonodon patoca and Arothron reticularis) (Figure 1)
97 fish species and 20 environmental variables are analyzed by Correspondence Analysis (CCA), classifying the relationships of fish assemblage structure and environmental parameters into four groups
Summary
Seagrass meadows are considered a valuable component of coastal ecosystems, as they are an important habitat for numerous fish, invertebrates and other animals, perform different ecological functions and act as environmental reserves. Variations in environmental variables are the major factors that govern marine fish communities in terms of species richness and distribution of individual species They are important in terms of fish biology and ecology and related studies of life history and population dynamics. The results can be used in the future as a basis for comparison with other seagrass meadows in South East Asia and other tropical marine systems They support aquatic resources conservation strategies, which should be prepared in the near future to protect this sensitive seagrass meadow ecosystem
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