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Fish community structure and functional guild composition in an anthropogenically impacted, temporarily closed sandbar estuary

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Abstract

This study investigates the fish assemblage in a temporarily-closed sandbar estuary along India’s west coast, across different zones and seasons. Moderate species diversity (54 species), low species abundance, varying fish diversity from lower to upper estuarine gradient (higher counts in lower zones, and decreasing from middle to upper zones), and higher prevalence of marine migrants (estuarine use) and piscivorous species (feeding mode) were the significant characteristics of the estuary. Distinct spatial, seasonal, and estuarine mouth state-based variations were recorded in the estuary, based on diversity indices and count of taxa. Peak diversity and abundance were noted during the pre-monsoon, and during the open mouth state of the estuary. The entire estuarine gradient is anthropogenically impacted by a multitude of stressors, except at the estuarine mouth region, which is favored by marine connectivity. The fish assemblage structure in Poonthura estuary (PE) has thus far remained unaffected by anthropogenic disturbances. Nevertheless, growth and nursery function of the estuary have been significantly compromised. The predominance of juvenile fish in the ecosystem, and prevailing anthropogenic stressors from point and non-point sources underscore the necessity for long-term maintenance of the population of coastal species, as well as a need for developing and implementing urgent management strategies for this fragile ecosystem.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their sincere gratitude to Vishwajeet Prajapati, Technical officer, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, North Goa, for his technical help in preparation of the manuscript, and to the fishers of Poonthura, for their cooperation and support during the sampling period.

Funding

This study is funded by the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), and the Department of Fisheries, Government of Kerala.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fisheries Resource Management, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), Kochi, Kerala, India

    Bella Kiranya, Pramila Sahadevan & Rajeev Raghavan

  2. ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Andheri, Mumbai, India

    Dayal Devadas

  3. ICAR- Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute (CCARI), Ella, Old Goa, Goa, India

    Giri Bhavan Sreekanth

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  1. Bella Kiranya
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Contributions

Kiranya Bella: writing—original draft, conceptualization, methodology, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, resources. Pramila Sahadevan: methodology, conceptualization, formal analysis, writing—review and editing, validation, supervision. Rajeev Raghavan: conceptualization, writing—review and editing, validation, supervision. Dayal Devadas: software, data analysis writing—review and editing. Sreekanth GB: conceptualization, methodology, data curation and analysis, writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Bella Kiranya.

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Kiranya, B., Sahadevan, P., Raghavan, R. et al. Fish community structure and functional guild composition in an anthropogenically impacted, temporarily closed sandbar estuary. Environ Monit Assess 196, 221 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-12286-3

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