Fish communities of estuarine salt marshes of eastern North America, and comparisons with temperate estuaries of other continents [Review]

摘要

Twenty eastern North American estuarine/salt marsh locations, for which published inventories of inhabiting fishes were available, were selected for study. The geographic range of systems extended from south Texas on the west; North River, FL. on the south; to Prince Edward Island, Canada on the east; and James and Hudson Bays, Canada at the north. A total of 237(+/-) species of fishes were associated with these systems. Life history groupings included: permanent residents (9.3%); marine nursery species (17.7%); diadromous fishes (5.5%); marine transients (52.3%); and freshwater transients (15.2%). The most widely distributed species were primarily permanent residents and marine nursery species. The fraction of resident species did not vary significantly over the latitudinal range, but the fraction of marine migratory (MN + MT) species decreased with latitude. An increasing fraction of diadromous (anadromous) species may compensate for the decreasing fraction of marine migratory species. Permanent residents, marine nursery species, and marine transients all showed extended periods of spawning. Permanent resident species showed the widest ranges of ambient salinity tolerances or of ambient salinity ranges of occupied habitats, with marine nursery species second. Patterns with respect to ambient temperature tolerances were associated with geographic ranges rather than life history groups. A general profile was produced of characteristics of species that live as permanent residents in salt marsh estuaries of eastern North America. Species and family relationships of fishes from a group of 17 and another of 25 estuaries located along the west coast of Europe were compared with the eastern North American group. European estuaries showed higher species richness per system than did those of eastern North America. Family representations of eastern North American and western European estuaries were compared with a series of estuaries located in southwestern Australia and South Africa. This showed significant overlap in family representation, with two species being common among the four continents.