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Structure, growth and production of a remarkably abundant population of the common goby, Pomatoschistus microps (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae)

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Abstract

The common goby, Pomatoschistus microps, is a relevant species from estuarine food webs, playing important roles as predator of polychaetes and crustaceans and as prey for larger fishes and crustaceans. The Minho estuary (NW Portugal) is a relatively well-preserved and productive system. To assess the population structure and production of P. microps in this estuary, monthly samples were undertaken in three different areas along an estuarine gradient in the lower estuary. The density of P. microps varied considerably among seasons and sampling stations, with higher densities occurring in summer and autumn. The lowest densities were found closer to the sea. In general, the density of females was higher than the density of males in all sampling stations, while juveniles were more abundant within a salt marsh area. Compared with other European estuaries, our data showed a remarkable higher density and production values of P. microps. This may be related to the high freshwater input and the low salinities found in this estuary. In addition, we hypothesize that the lower density of the sympatric species P. minutus and the high availability of bivalve shells observed in the Minho estuary may have also contributed to the present results, once P. minutus and P. microps often display a diet overlap and the bivalve shells are crucial for the common goby reproduction.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Eduardo Martins and Carlos Antunes for their help during the field campaign in Minho estuary. We would like also to thank Fabiana Freitas, Felipe Ribas, João Moura and Jorge Araújo for their valuable help in the lab, Martina Ilarri and Ronaldo Sousa for reviewing the early version of the manuscript. Special thanks are to the editor Dr. DLG Noakes and three anonymous referees that greatly contributed to the manuscript improvement. This research was approved by the university’s ethics committee and was supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. A.T. Souza has a PhD grant (SFRH/BD/71232/2010) from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal). I. Martins was financed for CIÊNCIA 2007 and the project INPACTAR PTDC/MAR/111537/2009; FCT; COMPETE; QREN; UE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIMAR/CIIMAR – Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123, Porto, Portugal

    A. T. Souza, E. Dias & J. Campos

  2. ICBAS – Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Lg. Prof. Abel. Salazar, 2, 4099-003, Porto, Portugal

    A. T. Souza & E. Dias

  3. IMAR – CMA, Institute of Marine Research - Marine and Environmental Research Centre, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3004-517, Coimbra, Portugal

    J. C. Marques & I. Martins

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  1. A. T. Souza
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  2. E. Dias
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  4. J. C. Marques
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Souza, A.T., Dias, E., Campos, J. et al. Structure, growth and production of a remarkably abundant population of the common goby, Pomatoschistus microps (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae). Environ Biol Fish 97, 701–715 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-013-0172-0

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