Influence of streams discharges on the structure of fish communities of Portuguese land-locked coastal lagoons

Land-locked coastal lagoons are naturally stressed environments that consequently constrain biological communities that colonize these systems, through direct or indirect influence. This study investigated the influence of groundwater outflows and catchment runoff on the fish community of Melides an...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: FÉLIX, Pedro M., CORREIA, Maria João, CHAINHO, Paula, COSTA, Maria José, CABRAL, Henrique N., DOMINGOS, Isabel, COSTA, José Lino, CANCELA DA FONSECA, Luís
Format: Text
Language:unknown
Published: Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR) 2013
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Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.21411/cbm.a.4e7dbc4e
http://application.sb-roscoff.fr/cbm/doi/10.21411/CBM.A.4E7DBC4E
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Summary:Land-locked coastal lagoons are naturally stressed environments that consequently constrain biological communities that colonize these systems, through direct or indirect influence. This study investigated the influence of groundwater outflows and catchment runoff on the fish community of Melides and Santo André, two land-locked coastal lagoons in southwest Portugal. Sampling of the fish communities was conducted during the closed period of the lagoons, using fyke net arrays placed at growing distances from the interface of freshwater discharges to the lagoonal areas not directly influenced by freshwater discharges, with the concomitant analysis of nutrients and several environmental parameters. The fish communities of these lagoons are mainly dominated by marine juvenile migrants and tolerant species, the latter including diadromous migrants and resident species. The structure of fish communities only showed longitudinal spatial differences, between upstream and downstream areas. However, the distribution of benthic species, like the European eel and Senegalese sole, appears to be related to freshwater inputs. While S. senegalensis is more abundant in the freshwater discharge areas, A. anguilla follows the opposite trend.