The ichthyofauna of the Sundays Estuary, South Africa, with particular reference to the juvenile marine component

Beckley, L.E. (1984) The ichthyofauna of the Sundays Estuary, South Africa, with particular reference to the juvenile marine component. Estuaries, 7 (3). pp. 248-258.

Abstract

The ichthyofauna of the Sundays Estuary was investigated by monthly seine netting over a period of a year. Forty-seven species were captured though 23 of these were represented by a total catch of less than 25 specimens each. The small clupeid Gilchristella aestuarius was numerically dominant and constituted 80%, of the catch. The study confirms that in addition to this species, two species of goby, Caffrogobius multifasciatus and Psammogobius knysnaensis and the sole Solea bleekeri complete their life cycles in the estuary. Many other species such as mullet, utilize the estuary as a juvenile nursery area. First year juveniles of Rhabdosargus holubi, Lithognathus lithognathus, Pomadasys commersonni and Monodactylus falciformis, by virtue of their abundance in the Sundays Estuary and other South African estuaries, and their absence from other coastal environments, appear to be dependent on estuaries as juvenile nursery areas.

Publication Type:	Journal Article
Publisher:	Springer Verlag
Copyright:	© Estuarine Research Federation
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/7480

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