Thermal tolerance of nearshore fishes across seasons: implications for coastal fish communities in a changing climate

Atundance and species composition of fish, including early stages, were studied along a gradient from a Bothnian pulp mill producing tleached kraft. Close to the outlet, the density of fish was very low and the recruitment drastically reduced. Further away, tiomass increased to a high level in a zone characterized ty dense populations of cyprinids, mainly roach, and ruffe. Other common Baltic species, e.g. herring, perch and sand-goty, occurred in subnormal densities. Compared to the cyprinids, the recruitment of these species was disturbed in much wider areas, which is considered to te a consequence of their larval tiology. The populations of at least perch and sandgoty must largely te tased on immigration. The effluent impact on the fish communities seems to te due to a comtination of its eutrophicating, toxic and repelling properties; the low transparency of the water may also te important.

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Short-term performance of three underwater sampling techniques for assessing differences in the absolute abundances and in the inventories of the coastal fish communities of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf12301 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 65 (2) ◽

pp. 105 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Pablo Pita ◽

Diana Fernández-Márquez ◽

Juan Freire

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Ocean ◽

Fish Community ◽

North Atlantic Ocean ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Economic Cost ◽

Sampling Techniques ◽

Remotely Operated Vehicle ◽

Underwater Visual Census ◽

Coastal Fish ◽

Adverse Weather

Comparative works on sampling techniques allow selecting the best methods to study each target fish community. We analysed the structure of a coastal fish community in Galicia (north-western Spain) by comparing the following three techniques: diver-based underwater visual census (UVC), remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and remote underwater video (RUV). All techniques detected abundant and frequent taxa, but divers obtained more precise and complete inventories (80% of identified taxa) than did ROV (60%) and RUV (47%), were faster (only 1.4 days to achieve the estimated taxa list) than were ROV (2.0 days) and RUV (475.7 days), and were more reliable in estimating the abundances of highly mobile, less abundant, less frequent, cryptic and smaller fish. Conversely, RUV obtained the poorest estimates of abundances, and even though it obtained more replicates (136), there were more zeros (98%) than with divers (16 replicates, 64% zeros) and ROV (11 replicates, 75% zeros). Furthermore, the economic cost of the video system was triple the cost of the diving gear; consequently, we recommend using divers to study the coastal fish communities in the shallow waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. However, further research is necessary to explore the full capabilities of video techniques in long-term studies, in greater depths and in adverse weather conditions.

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Long-term shift in coastal fish communities before and after the collapse of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsv216 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 73 (5) ◽

pp. 1415-1426 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

J. Scott P. McCain ◽

Deneen J. Cull ◽

David C. Schneider ◽

Heike K. Lotze

Keyword(s):

Fish Community ◽

Large Scale ◽

Gadus Morhua ◽

Atlantic Cod ◽

Substantial Reduction ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Coastal Habitat ◽

Coastal Fish ◽

Before And After

Abstract The collapse of the Northwest Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) stocks in the early 1990s led to widespread ecological changes offshore. Changes in coastal fish communities are less known, largely due to the lack of historical records and long-term, standardized research surveys in coastal ecosystems. We aimed to overcome this with a unique dataset known as the Fleming survey. From 1959 to 1964, a systematic beach-seine survey was conducted to examine juvenile cod abundance in 84 bays (42 of which were consistently sampled and therefore analysed) along the east coast of Newfoundland. In addition to cod, all other fish collected in the seines were recorded. These surveys were repeated from 1992 to 1996 after the cod collapse, and document a substantial reduction in a dominant inshore species—juvenile Atlantic cod. We show that total fish abundance declined significantly with the decrease of cod, whereas Shannon diversity and species evenness significantly increased. Species richness increased in some regions but decreased in others. We also found significant changes in the composition of the fish community likely due to a combination of release from predation from fewer large cod feeding in inshore areas as well as a release from competition from fewer juvenile cod occupying the coastal habitat. Region and the presence of vegetated habitats also significantly influenced the fish community. This study shows a strong reorganization of coastal fish communities after a large-scale fisheries collapse with implications for ecosystem-based and cross-ecosystem management.

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Abiotic drivers of coastal fish community change during four decades in the Baltic Sea

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fss072 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 69 (6) ◽

pp. 961-970 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Jens Olsson ◽

Lena Bergström ◽

Anna Gårdmark

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Water Temperature ◽

Fish Community ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Community Change ◽

Anthropogenic Pressure ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Coastal Fish ◽

The Baltic

Abstract Olsson, J., Bergström, L., and Gårdmark, A. 2012. Abiotic drivers of coastal fish community change during four decades in the Baltic Sea – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 961–970. Evidence for long-term change of marine ecosystems is increasing worldwide. Coastal areas harbour the socio-economically and ecologically most vital aquatic ecosystems, but are under increasing anthropogenic pressure. Little is known, however, about how environmental perturbations affect the development of coastal systems. In this paper, datasets of coastal fish communities covering almost four decades (early/mid 1970s to 2008) in three different basins of the Baltic Sea were analysed. There were clear changes in species composition over time in all but one dataset and coherence among basins in the timing of change. Changes were mainly associated with variables related to climate (water temperature, salinity, and North Atlantic Oscillation index), but less so with those reflecting nutrient status (nutrient concentrations and loading). Despite the importance of local water temperature, regional climatic variables were more important for the temporal development of communities. The results indicate that Baltic coastal fish communities have undergone large structural changes governed by processes acting on both local and regional scales. The findings suggest that ecological targets should be set accounting for long-term changes in community structure and that a common management of coastal and offshore ecosystems would be beneficial.

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Shifts in coastal fish communities: Is eutrophication always beneficial for sticklebacks?

Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science ◽

10.1016/j.ecss.2017.08.047 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 198 ◽

pp. 193-203 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Karine Gagnon ◽

Max Gräfnings ◽

Christoffer Boström

Keyword(s):

Fish Communities ◽

Coastal Fish

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Towards a strategy for the conservation of marine fish in Scotland

Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Section B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0269727000011118 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 100 ◽

pp. 141-167 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. G. Poxton

Keyword(s):

Marine Fish ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Total Biomass ◽

Coastal Fish ◽

The Status ◽

Commercial Species ◽

Over Exploitation ◽

Species Being ◽

Research Recommendations ◽

Open Shelf

SynopsisThis paper reviews the status of marine fish populations in Scottish waters and considers current and potential threats. The inshore environments considered (shallow sandy bays, deeper and muddier areas, sea lochs, estuaries and firths) can be characterised by fish communities of 20-50 species, with some 20 species being present at any one locality. All of them functioned as nursery areas for commercial species and as habitats for smaller non-commercial residents. As few as 3-5 species were dominant, in terms of both numbers and biomass, in each habitat. More species occurred on the open shelf (over 200 ?) with up to 90 being taken regularly, but only 10 species accounted for 90% of both total biomass (in each of three North Sea areas) and commercial landings in Scotland by U.K. vessels. Mackerel (32.3%), herring (20.4%) and haddock (14.7%) dominated the landings. Both coastal fish communities and shelf stocks of commercial species have historically suffered from over-exploitation, a situation that has continued to date despite changes in management leading to their supposed protection. Other threats are identified, as is the need for conservation, while some legislative and research recommendations are made.

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