Changes in marsh nekton communities along the salinity gradient of the Schelde river, Belgium and The Netherlands

Nekton was sampled in five marshes along the salinity gradient of the Schelde River. The utilisation of three different habitats (large and small creek, marsh pond) by fish and macrocrustacean species was compared among the five sampling sites. In the larger channels fyke nets were deployed to captu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hampel, Henrietta, Cattrijsse, Andre, Mees, Jan
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2004
Subjects:
Biology and Life Sciences
nekton
salinity gradient
Schelde
SALT-MARSH
FUNDULUS-HETEROCLITUS
FISH COMMUNITIES
TIDAL MARSHES
HABITAT USE
NEW-JERSEY
ESTUARY
BAY
USA
ASSEMBLAGE
marsh habitat types
Anguilla anguilla
European eel
Online Access:https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/434821
http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-434821
https://doi.org/10.1023/B:HYDR.0000027325.16156.6c
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/434821/file/4428640
Description
Summary:Nekton was sampled in five marshes along the salinity gradient of the Schelde River. The utilisation of three different habitats (large and small creek, marsh pond) by fish and macrocrustacean species was compared among the five sampling sites. In the larger channels fyke nets were deployed to capture fish and macrocrustaceans leaving the marsh at ebb while block nets were set in smaller intertidal creeks. Fish traps passively sampled fish and shrimp in the marsh ponds. The tidal freshwater marsh had a species poor fauna and only a low number of fish was caught. Besides some freshwater species (Alburnoides bipunctatus, Carassius carassius) the European eel, Anguilla anguilla was still present. The four other marshes had a similar community structure although Platichthys flesus was absent from the euhaline area. Among fish species, dominance of Dicentrarchus labrax, Platichthys flesus and Pomatoschistus microps was observed. Carcinus maenas and Palaemonetes varians were the most abundant macrocrustacean species in every marsh. Between the large and small intertidal creeks there was no difference in nekton species composition. The main species used both habitats. Marsh ponds were utilized intensively only by two species. Pomatoschistus microps and Palaemonetes varians in every marsh.

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