Individual-based dispersal patterns of larval gobies in an estuary as indicated by otolith elemental fingerprints

Wann-Nian Tzeng,Mei-Yu Chang,Chen-Feng You,Chia-Hui Wang

doi:10.3989/scimar.2006.70s2165

Abstract

Otolith trace elements were used as natural tags to study the dispersal patterns of goby larvae in an estuary. Ninety-six larval gobies representing 10 species were collected in the estuary of Gongshytyan Creek in northwestern Taiwan in September 1997. Fifteen trace elements in fish otoliths were analysed with solution-based ICPMS. Trace elemental composition in otoliths differed significantly among the species. Habitat use by the larvae of the 10 species can be divided into four groups, based on principal component analysis of otolith elemental composition. All 10 goby species used the estuary as a nursery area irrespective of the fish being amphidromous or non-amphidromous. A part of the population may be lost during larval dispersal, as indicated from trace elemental composition recorded in the otolith.

Highlights

Gobies are among the most numerous species of estuarine fish
The purpose of this study was to distinguish the dispersal patterns of larval gobies in a Taiwanese estuary by otolith elemental fingerprinting with a high resolution solution-based inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICPMS) to determine whether the microhabitat used by the larval gobies in the estuary differed among individuals and species
The gobies were identified to species and the 10 dominant species were selected for otolith trace elemental analysis

Summary

Introduction

Gobies are among the most numerous species of estuarine fish. They represent approximately 10% of the total number of teleosts in the world (Nelson, 1994). As a consequence of physiological adaptations they have colonised most marine and fresh waters. More than 190 species of gobies have been recorded in Taiwan, some of them widely distributed in estuarine environments. Wootton (1984) defined the reproductive strategy of the goby as the overall pattern of reproduction typically shown by individuals in a species, and found that the reproductive tactics of the fish varied in response to variation in the environment. Gobies may be amphidromous or non-amphidromous according to their migratory behaviour and adult residential habitat.

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