Journal
JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY
Volume 80, Issue 3, Pages 705-712Publisher
WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.03197.x
Keywords
estuarine fish; macrophyte senescence; South Africa; stable isotopes
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Funding
- National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa
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The ecological importance of submerged macrophyte beds to fishes within estuaries was investigated through the example of the ubiquitous Cape stumpnose Rhabdosargus holubi, an omnivorous, vegetation and estuary-dependent species, using stable-isotope techniques and long-term abundance (catch-per-unit-effort) data from the East Kleinemonde Estuary, South Africa. Outputs from a Bayesian mixing model using d13C and d15N signatures indicated that the submerged macrophytes Ruppia cirrhosa and Potamogeton pectinatus were not a primary source of nutrition for R. holubi, confirming previous work that revealed that macrophytes are consumed but not digested. Long-term seine netting data showed reduced abundance of R. holubi during a prolonged period of macrophyte senescence, suggesting that submerged macrophyte habitats provide shelter that reduces mortality (predation risk) and a food-rich foraging area.
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