Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Temporal variability of the ichthyofauna in a Northern Aegean coastal lagoon (Greece). Influence of environmental factors

  • Primary Research Paper
  • Published:
Hydrobiologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The ichtyofauna of the Porto-Lagos Lagoon in northern Greece was sampled over 17 months, using a bag-seine net, to investigate factors influencing species seasonal composition and abundance. Of the 35 resident, migrant and straggler species caught, representing 22 families, the most numerically dominant species were Atherina boyeri (46.4% of total catch), which today is the most economically important species, followed by Pomatoschistus marmoratus (28% of total catch) and Aphanius fasciatus (9.1% of total catch). Mugilidae and Sparidae were the most diverse families. According to various diversity indices, the lagoon’s ichthyofauna was found to be most diverse in May 1990; taxonomic spread however, as shown by the taxonomic distinctness index (Δ*), was lowest in July 1990, when the greatest monthly water temperature range was observed (13.5 °C). Overall fish relative abundance was positively correlated with the maximum monthly water temperature (r2=0.32, p < 0.05). The NMDS and cluster analysis performed on the bag seine catches showed four groupings, based mainly on the life history of the species. The main group consisted of all the resident species of the lagoon and four mugilid species that were present throughout most of the sampling period. The second group consisted of marine migrant species that spent a short period of their life in the lagoon. Marine migrants and one marine straggler that were found once or twice formed the third group, while the fourth group consisted of species with casual presence. The importance of Porto-Lagos Lagoon as nursery and feeding area for marine species was confirmed by the catch of young individuals of several marine species.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • C. Babajimopoulos V. Antonopoulos (1992) Hydrological review of Lake Vistonis P.A. Gerakis (Eds) Conservation and Management of Greek Wetlands. IUCN Switzerland 333–347

    Google Scholar 

  • R. N. Bamber P. A. Henderson (1988) ArticleTitlePre-adaptive plasticity in atherinids and the estuarine seat of teleost evolution Journal of Fish Biology 33 IssueID(Suppl. A 17–23

    Google Scholar 

  • S. J. M. Blaber T. G. Blaber (1980) ArticleTitleFactors affecting the distribution of juvenile and estuarine inshore fish Journal of Fish Biology 17 143–162

    Google Scholar 

  • J.-L. Bouchereau O. Guelorget Y. Vergne J.-P. Perthuisot (2000) ArticleTitleL’ ichthyofaune dans l’organisation biologique d’un système paralique de type lagunaire: le complexe des étangs du Prévost et de l’ Arnel (Languedoc, France) Vie Milieu 50 19–27

    Google Scholar 

  • B. E. Brown K. R. Clarke R. M. Warwick (2002) ArticleTitleSerial patterns of biodiversity change in corals across shallow reef flats in Ko Phuket, Thailand, due to the effects of local (sedimentation) and regional (climatic) perturbations Marine Biology 141 21–29 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s00227-002-0810-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P. N. Claridge C. J. Potter M. W. Hardisty (1986) ArticleTitleSeasonal changes in movements, abundance, size composition and diversity of the fish fauna of the Severn Estuary Journal of the Marine Biological Association of UK 66 229–258

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, K. R., Gorley, R. N. 2001. PRIMER v5: User Manual/Tutorial, PRIMER-E, Plymouth, 91 pp.

  • K. R. Clarke R. M. Warwick (1994) Change in Marine Communities: An Approach to Statistical Analysis and Interpretation Natural Environment Research Council, Plymouth Marine Laboratory Plymouth 144

    Google Scholar 

  • K. R. Clarke R. M. Warwick (1998) ArticleTitleA taxonomic distinctness index and its statistical properties Journal of Applied Ecology 35 523–531 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2664.1998.3540523.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • K. R. Clarke R. M. Warwick (2001) ArticleTitleA further biodiversity index applicable to species lists: variation in taxonomic distinctness Marine Ecology Progress Series 216 265–278

    Google Scholar 

  • P. R. Dando (1984) Reproduction in Estuarine Fish G. W. Potts R. J. Wootton (Eds) Fish Reproduction – Strategies and Tactics Academic Press London 155–170

    Google Scholar 

  • J. W. Day C. A. S. Hall W. M. Kemp A. Yáñez-Arancibia (1989) Estuarine Ecology John Wiley & Sons New York 558

    Google Scholar 

  • J. S. Desmond D. H. Deutschman J. B. Zedler (2002) ArticleTitleSpatial and temporal variation in estuarine fish and invertebrate assemblages: analysis of an 11-year data set Estuaries 25 552–569

    Google Scholar 

  • Economidis, P. S. (1991). Checklist of Freshwater Fishes of Greece. Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature, Athens, 48 pp.

  • EU, 2000. Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (23.10.2000). Official Journal of the European Communities, L. 327. 72 pp.

  • Froese, R. & D. Pauly (eds), 2002. FishBase, World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, 10 November, 2003.

  • S. P. Griffiths (2001) ArticleTitleFactors influencing fish composition in an Australian intermittently open estuary. Is stability salinity- dependent? Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 52 739–751

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Guidetti G. Fanelli S. Fraschetti A. Terlizzi F. Boero (2002) ArticleTitleCoastal fish indicate human-induced changes in the Mediterranean littoral Marine Environmental Research 53 77–94 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3MXnslWmsrc%3D Occurrence Handle11767255

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • J. A. Gulland (1964) ArticleTitleCatch per unit effort as a measure of abundance Rapports et Procès-verbaux des réunions Conseil Internationale pour l’exploration de la Mer 155 8–14

    Google Scholar 

  • J. C. Hannan R. J. Williams (1998) ArticleTitleRecruitment of juvenile marine fishes to seagrass habitat in a temperate Australian estuary Estuaries 21 29–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Hellenic National Statistical Service, 1999. Statistical Yearbook: Aquaculture production. Athens, Hellas.

  • F. C. James C. E. McCulloch (1990) ArticleTitleMultivariate analysis in ecology and systematics: Panacea or Pandora’s box? Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 21 129–166

    Google Scholar 

  • E. T. Koutrakis A. A. Kokkinakis E. A. Eleftheriadis M. D. Argyropoulou (2000) ArticleTitleSeasonal changes in distribution and abundance of the fish fauna in the two estuarine systems of Strymonikos Gulf (Macedonia, Greece) Belgian Journal of Zoology 130 IssueIDSuppl. 41–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Koutrakis, E.T., Tsikliras, A., Kamidis, N. 2001. On the biology of sardine Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1972) in the Gulf of Kavala. Proceedings of the 10th Hellenic Congress of Ichthyologists, 18–20 October 2001, Chania, Greece: 69–72.

  • E. T. Koutrakis N. I. Kamidis I. D. Leonardos (2004) ArticleTitleAge, growth and mortality of the sand smelt Atherina boyeri (Risso, 1810), (Pisces: Atherinidae) in an estuarine system of Northern Greece Journal of Applied Ichthyology 20 382–388

    Google Scholar 

  • C. J. Krebs (1994) Ecology: The experimental analysis of distribution and abundance EditionNumber2 Harper and Row Publishers New York 801

    Google Scholar 

  • I. Leonardos A. Sinis (1999) ArticleTitlePopulation age and structure of Aphanius fasciatus Nardo, 1827 (Pisces: Cyprinodontidae) in the Mesolongi and Etolikon lagoons (W Greece). Fisheries Research 40 227–235

    Google Scholar 

  • Leonardos, I., Sinis, A., Kokkinidou, A. 2000. Fish fauna of the Mesolongi and Etolikon lagoons. Proceedings of the 6th Hellenic Symposium in Oceanography and Fisheries, 23–26 May, Chios, Greece: 239–244.

  • J. F. K. Marais D. Baird (1980) ArticleTitleSeasonal abundance, distribution and catch per unit effort of fishes in the Swartkops estuary South African Journal of Zoology 15 55–71

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Mariani (2001) ArticleTitleCan spatial distribution of ichthyofauna describe marine influence on coastal lagoons? A central Mediterranean case study Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 52 261–267

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Mathieson A. Cattrijsse M. J. Costa P. Drake M. Elliott J. Gardner J. Marchand (2000) ArticleTitleFish assemblages of European tidal marshes: a comparison based on species, families and functional guilds Marine Ecology Progress Series 204 225–242

    Google Scholar 

  • D. A. Methven R. L. Haedrich G. A. Rose (2001) ArticleTitleThe fish assemblage of a new Newfoundland estuary: diel, monthly and annual variation Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 52 669–687

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Pauly A. Yáñez-Arancibia (1994) Fisheries in Coastal Lagoons B. Kjerfve (Eds) Coastal Lagoon Processes, Elsevier Oceanography Series 60 Elsevier Science The Netherlands 377–399

    Google Scholar 

  • M. A. Pegg C. L. Pierce (2002) ArticleTitleFish Community structure in the Missouri and lower Yellowstone rivers in relation to flow characterics Hydrobiologia 479 155–167

    Google Scholar 

  • Statsoft, Inc., 1996. STATISTICA for Windows (Computer program manual). Tulsa, OK: Statsoft Inc., 2300 East 14th Street, Tulsa, OK 74104.

  • R. Thiel A. Sepulveda R. Kafemann W. Nellen (1995) ArticleTitleEnvironmental factors as forces structuring the fish community of the Elbe Estuary Journal of Fish Biology 46 47–69

    Google Scholar 

  • M. D. Tremain D. H. Adams (1995) ArticleTitleSeasonal variations in species diversity, abundance, and composition of fish communities in the northern Indian river lagoon, Florida Bulletin of Marine Science 57 171–192

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Vitali L. Braghieri (1981) ArticleTitleCaratteristiche strutturali e dinamiche del popolamento ittico del medio Po nella zona di Caorso Rivista Idrobiologia 20 269–304

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead, P. J. P., M. L. Bauchot, J. C. Hureau, J. Nielsen & E. Tortonese, 1986. Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Vol.1. Unesco, 510 pp.

  • A. K. Whitfield (1980) ArticleTitleFactors influencing the recruitment of juvenile fishes into the Mhlanga estuary South African Journal of Zoology 15 166–169

    Google Scholar 

  • A. K. Whitfield (1983) ArticleTitleFactors influencing the utilization of Southern African estuaries by fishes South African Journal of Science 79 362–365

    Google Scholar 

  • A. K. Whitfield (1999) ArticleTitleIchthyofaunal assemblages in estuaries: A South African case study Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 9 151–186

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fisheries Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Foundation, 640 07, Nea Peramos, Kavala, Greece

    Emmanuil T. Koutrakis & Athanassios C. Tsikliras

  2. Department of Zoology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 134, 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Athanassios C. Tsikliras & Apostolos I. Sinis

Authors
  1. Emmanuil T. Koutrakis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Athanassios C. Tsikliras
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Apostolos I. Sinis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emmanuil T. Koutrakis.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Koutrakis, E.T., Tsikliras, A.C. & Sinis, A.I. Temporal variability of the ichthyofauna in a Northern Aegean coastal lagoon (Greece). Influence of environmental factors. Hydrobiologia 543, 245–257 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-004-7891-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-004-7891-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation