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Rapid changes in fish utilization of mangrove habitat in Western Madagascar

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Abstract

Fish use of a mangrove habitat was studied in a small mangrove forest on the West coast of Madagascar. A sand bar near the inlet retains water in parts of the channel (pools) at low tide. Fishes in four of these pools were examined daily at all phases of the tidal cycle for 3 weeks using underwater visual census. During week 1, fishes were diverse and abundant in all pools: the dominant species were cardinalfish (related to Apogon lateralis); monos, Monodactylus argenteus; black spotted snappers, Lutjanus ehrenbergi; double bar bream, Acanthopagrus bifasciatus; emperors, Lethrinus lentjan and L. sp., surgeon fish, Acanthurus nigricauda; red-lined sweetlips, Plectorhinchus plagiodesmis; and butterflyfish, Chaetodon kleini. Some species were more abundant in shaded pools; others in more open pools. During week 2 a dramatic difference was noted: the only fishes found were schools of cardinalfish and one moray eel. This week had neap tides, with high tides in the morning and low tides in the afternoon. As the week progressed and during week 3 (spring tides), fishes slowly repopulated the habitat and diversity increased. Monos, absent in week 2, now had increasing numbers of small individuals. While large emperors were scarce, small individuals appeared. The larger butterflyfish and surgeonfish seen in week 1 were replaced by small ones during week 3. Species that had been rare in week 1 were more abundant, including pipefish and small barracudas. While species richness increased during week 3, the community was strikingly different from that seen 2 weeks earlier. Only Pool 1, closest to the entrance, recovered its original species richness. Abundance was much lower than in week 1. Our snapshot study apparently captured a time when older juveniles left the mangrove forest and smaller fishes recruited into it. Utilization of this habitat will likely vary throughout the year depending on the reproductive cycle of the different species whose juveniles utilize it. Longer studies are needed to learn about cycles in fish use of the mangroves.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the help of Blue Ventures in organizing this visit to Andavadoaka. We are especially grateful to Alasdair Harris for his encouragement and support (and lending us his underwater camera after we flooded our own), to volunteer Danielle Coopell for assistance, Tristan Brown for help with fish identification, Craig Noler for mangrove identification. We appreciate the help of Dr. Paul Loiselle of the NY Aquarium (Wildlife Conservation Society) and Drs. John Randall, Gerald Allen and Thomas Fraser for helping us try to identify the species of cardinalfish. This project was funded in part by “Blue Ventures” (http://www.blueventures.org).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA

    Judith S. Weis & James MacDonald

  2. Department of Radiology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA

    Peddrick Weis

  3. Blue Ventures, 52 Avenue Rd., London, N6 5DR, England, UK

    Louis Pearson

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  1. Judith S. Weis
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  2. Peddrick Weis
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Correspondence to Judith S. Weis.

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Weis, J.S., Weis, P., MacDonald, J. et al. Rapid changes in fish utilization of mangrove habitat in Western Madagascar. Wetlands Ecol Manage 17, 345–354 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-008-9111-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-008-9111-9

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