Fish species, families and guilds recorded in selected estuaries of Mozambique

Whitfield, AKWeerts, Steven P2024-07-222024-07-222024-05Whitfield, A. & Weerts, S.P. 2024. Fish species, families and guilds recorded in selected estuaries of Mozambique. Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science, 23(1). http://hdl.handle.net/10204/137260856-860X2683-6416DOI:10.4314/wiojms.v23i1.6http://hdl.handle.net/10204/13726This review documents the occurrence of fish species in a range of estuaries from Mozambique. Altogether 217 fish species were recorded, belonging to 77 families, and dominated in terms of species richness by Gobiidae, Carangidae and Mugilidae. A guild analysis was conducted to compare the occurrence and degree of estuary-association by the various species in tropical Mozambique, with that recorded from nearby predominantly subtropical and warm-temperate estuaries in South Africa. The major difference in guild occurrence between the two countries centered on the higher representation of marine stragglers in Mozambique estuaries, a probable result of the wide mouths and macrotidal exchange of some of the larger systems along this coast. Estuarine lakes and lagoons within the Mozambique coastal region showed increasing reduction in marine connectivity with channel distance from the sea, and a concomitant increase in freshwater fish species domination of these incipient coastal lakes and lagoons. Once these systems lose all connectivity with the sea, they become freshwater coastal lakes and lagoons, and all estuary-associated marine fish species disappear.FulltextenEstuarine fishSpecies listAfrican estuariesFish species, families and guilds recorded in selected estuaries of MozambiqueArticleWhitfield, A., & Weerts, S. P. (2024). Fish species, families and guilds recorded in selected estuaries of Mozambique. Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science, 23(1), http://hdl.handle.net/10204/13726Whitfield, AK, and Steven P Weerts "Fish species, families and guilds recorded in selected estuaries of Mozambique." Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science, 23(1) (2024) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/13726Whitfield A, Weerts SP. Fish species, families and guilds recorded in selected estuaries of Mozambique. Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science, 23(1). 2024; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/13726.TY - Article AU - Whitfield, AK AU - Weerts, Steven P AB - This review documents the occurrence of fish species in a range of estuaries from Mozambique. Altogether 217 fish species were recorded, belonging to 77 families, and dominated in terms of species richness by Gobiidae, Carangidae and Mugilidae. A guild analysis was conducted to compare the occurrence and degree of estuary-association by the various species in tropical Mozambique, with that recorded from nearby predominantly subtropical and warm-temperate estuaries in South Africa. The major difference in guild occurrence between the two countries centered on the higher representation of marine stragglers in Mozambique estuaries, a probable result of the wide mouths and macrotidal exchange of some of the larger systems along this coast. Estuarine lakes and lagoons within the Mozambique coastal region showed increasing reduction in marine connectivity with channel distance from the sea, and a concomitant increase in freshwater fish species domination of these incipient coastal lakes and lagoons. Once these systems lose all connectivity with the sea, they become freshwater coastal lakes and lagoons, and all estuary-associated marine fish species disappear. DA - 2024-05 DB - ResearchSpace DP - CSIR J1 - Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science, 23(1) KW - Estuarine fish KW - Species list KW - African estuaries LK - https://researchspace.csir.co.za PY - 2024 SM - 0856-860X SM - 2683-6416 T1 - Fish species, families and guilds recorded in selected estuaries of Mozambique TI - Fish species, families and guilds recorded in selected estuaries of Mozambique UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10204/13726 ER -27946