Ecological Structure of Estaurine Fish Communities: Habitat Linkages Among Dominant Species Groups in Terminos Lagoon, Mexico
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 2001 Ecological Structure of Estaurine Fish Communities: Habitat Linkages Among Dominant Species Groups in Terminos Lagoon, Mexico. Ana Laura Lara-dominguez Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Lara-dominguez, Ana Laura, "Ecological Structure of Estaurine Fish Communities: Habitat Linkages Among Dominant Species Groups in Terminos Lagoon, Mexico." (2001). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 352. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/352 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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ECOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF ESTUARINE RSH COMMUNITIES: HABITAT LINKAGES AMONG DOMINANT SPECIES GROUPS IN TERMINOS LAGOON MEXICO A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences by Ana Laura Lara-Dominguez B.S. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 1980 M.S. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 1986 August 2001 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number. 3021441 UMI* UMI Microform 3021441 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION I want to dedicate this dissertation to my sons, Anton and Rodrigo because they are the most beautiful thing in my life, without them I don’t have a reason to continue. To my husband, Eduardo Sainz, for his constant support since our lives coincided. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my most heartfelt thanks to my major professor Dr. John W. Day, for his support and guidance at ail times. Special thanks to Dr. Donald Baltz for his time, patience and valuable comments in the writing of this dissertation. To Dr. Enrique Reyes for his support, always reluctant but always there ... I know. To Drs. Irving Mendelssohn, Jaye Cable and Robert Holmes for their valuable suggestions during the review of this manuscript. My studies in the U.S. were supported by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Conacyt, Scholarship 119112/120940, and Campeche University through a sabbatical leave during 1999. In Terminos Lagoon, I had the support of Institute de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia, UNAM using the facilities of the Estadon el Carmen. I would like to express my special thanks to Dr. Alejandro Y&nez-Arancibia for his constant tutorship and academic support, as well as for his friendship. To Drs. Philippe Henssel and Barry Moser for their supervision on the statistical analyzes. in Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION.......................................................................................................... A ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................Si ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................. vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................1 1.1.1 Background ............................................................................ 3 1.1.2 Objectives .............................................................................. 9 1.2 Study Area .......................................................................................... 10 1.3 Literature Cited ..................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 2. ECOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF ESTUARINE FISH COMMUNITIES: ABUNDANCE AND DIVERSITY PATTERNS IN TERMINOS LAGOON A TROPICAL COASTAL LAGOON .............................................................................................. 22 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 22 2.1.1 The Problem ............................................................................24 2.1.2 Objectives ................................................................................26 2.2. Study Area ......................................................................................... 27 2.3 Material and Methods .............................................................................30 2.3.1 Reid and Laboratory Measurements ...................................... 30 2.3.2 Analysis of Community Structure ........................................... 31 2.3.3 Community Structure Parameters .......................................... 31 2.3.3.1 Diversity ................................................................ 31 2.3.4 Statistical Analysis .................................................................. 41 2.4 Results ..................................................................................................42 2.4.1 Environmental Trends ............................................................. 42 2.4.2 Community ..............................................................................51 2.4.2.1 Community Structure ..............................................52 2.4.3 The Relation of Diversity indices to Physical Parameters .......71 2.5 Discussion ............................................................................................. 73 2.6 Literature Cited ......................................................................................78 CHAPTER 3. ECOLOGY OF DOMINANT FISH POPULATIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS REGULATING BIOLOGICAL STRATEGIES IN A TROPICAL LAGOON ........................................................................................... 90 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 90 3.1.1 Background .............................................................................91 3.1.2 Objectives ...............................................................................95 3.2 Study Area ........................................................................................... 96 3.3 Material and Methods .............................................................................98 3.3.1 Reid and Laboratory Measurements ...................................... 98 3.3.2 Analysts of Dominant Species Population Structure ............... 98 3.4 Results .................................................................................................. 100 3.4.1 Cathorops spixii (mandamango sea catfish) .......................... 102 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3.4.2 Sphoemktes testudineus (checkered puffer) ..........................106 3.4.3 Bairdiella chrysoura (silver perch) .......................................... 110 3.4.4 Ariopsis fells (hardhead sea catfish) .......................................112 3.4.5 Archosargus rhomboidalis (sea bream ) .................................. 116 3.4.6 Euanostomus guta (silver jenny) ............................................121