The fish assemblages of the mangroves of São Tomé island (Gulf of Guinea), patterns of functional diversity

Event Abstract Back to Event The fish assemblages of the mangroves of São Tomé island (Gulf of Guinea), patterns of functional diversity Joshua A. Heumüller1*, Filipa Afonso1, Paula Chainho1, Ricardo F. Lima2, 3, 4, Filipe Ribeiro1, Ana C. Brito1, 5 and Pedro M. Félix1 1 Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Portugal 2 Centro de Ecologia, Evolução e Mudanças Ambientais, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal 3 Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal 4 Monte Pico, Sao Tome and Principe 5 Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal Mangroves are one of the most productive systems fixing large amounts of atmospheric CO2 evidencing their role in climate regulation (Brito et al., 2017, Chand Basha, 2018, Gilman et al., 2008). Mangroves also support large scale fisheries acting as spawning, nursery and feeding grounds for a large number of fish species (Félix et al., 2017). Functional diversity plays a major role in the maintenance of ecosystem functioning and stability. To estimate functional diversity, species are grouped into functional groups according to different functional traits, reflecting an ecological role within the ecosystem. The more functional groups there are, the higher the functional diversity, the healthier the ecosystem is (Petchey & Gaston, 2006). Despite the relevance of estuarine systems to numerous ichthyofaunal communities, those of São Tomé Island (Gulf of Guinea) remain poorly studied (Félix et al., 2017). The present work aims to determine the community composition and functional diversity of different mangrove fish assemblages, namely of Malanza, Angolares, Diogo Nunes and Praia das Conchas, all with different levels of human impact, and high hydrological and morphological differences. Sampling events were carried out during the rainy season of 2014 (Pisoni et al., 2015) and the dry season of 2017. In all four mangroves a multi-habitat sampling methodology was applied using gill, seine, hand and cast nets, angling, fish traps and longline. At all sampling occasions, environmental parameters were also recorded. Functional traits such as feeding type, vertical distribution and reproductive type were determined. The ecological functions that these traits express allow the estimation of the functional diversity in each system. A total of 35 species were collected, some of high economical interest, depicting Malanza as the most taxonomically diverse mangrove (≈ 20 species in each sampling occasion). Angolares had the lowest species richness (a total of 9 species) and three species were common to all mangroves and seasons. Malanza was the largest, most diverse system and the one supporting the highest ecological functions. Malanza was followed by Praia das Conchas and Diogo Nunes, thus, evidencing their ecological importance despite their small size. Overall, this approach demonstrates that Malanza has the highest ecological integrity and plays a central role in the maintenance of fish assemblages. Acknowledgements A very special thank you to MARAPA, OIKOS, Direção das Pescas de São Tomé e Príncipe and Direção do Ambiente de São Tomé e Príncipe for the support and aid provided during the study. Funding: Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Strategic project MARE - UID/MAR/04292/2013; Ricardo Lima - FCT/MCTES – SFRH/BPD/9149/2012; Ana C. Brito - IF/00331/2013) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) - Nº4494. References 1 – Brito, A.C., Silva, T., Beltrán, C., Chainho, P., Lima, R.F. (2017), Phytoplankton in two tropical mangroves of São Tomé Island (Gulf of Guinea): A contribution towards sustainable management strategies, Regional Studies in Marine Science 9, 89-96 2- Chand Basha, S.K. (2018), An overview on global mangrove s distribution, Indian Journal of Geo Marine Sciences 47, 766 - 772 3 – Gilman, E.L., Ellison, J., Duke, N.C., Field, C. (2008), Threats to mangroves from climate change and adaptation options: A review, Aquatic Botany 89, 237 - 250 4– Félix, P.M., Chainho, P., Lima, R.F., Costa, J.L., Almeida, A.J., Domingos, I., Brito, A.C. (2017), Mangrove fish of São Tomé Island (Gulf of Guinea): new occurrences and habitat usage, Marine and Freshwater Research 68, 123-130 5 – Petchey, O.L., Gaston, K.J. (2006), Functional diversity: back to basics and looking forward, Ecology Letters 9, 741-758 6 – Pisoni, T, Lima, R.F., Brito, A.C., Chainho, P., Félix, P.M., Caçador, I., Carvalho, A. (2015) Planos de gestão participativa para dois sítios de mangal na Ilha de S. Tomé: Praia das Conchas e Malanza, 76 Keywords: Mangroves, Fish assemblages, functional diversity, Gulf of Guinea, São tomé and príncipe Conference: IMMR'18 | International Meeting on Marine Research 2018, Peniche, Portugal, 5 Jul - 6 Jul, 2018. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Biodiversity, Conservation and Coastal Management Citation: Heumüller JA, Afonso F, Chainho P, Lima RF, Ribeiro F, Brito AC and Félix PM (2019). The fish assemblages of the mangroves of São Tomé island (Gulf of Guinea), patterns of functional diversity. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: IMMR'18 | International Meeting on Marine Research 2018. doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2018.06.00101 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 03 May 2018; Published Online: 07 Jan 2019. * Correspondence: Mr. Joshua A Heumüller, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Lisbon, Portugal, joshua_heumuller@hotmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Joshua A Heumüller Filipa Afonso Paula Chainho Ricardo F Lima Filipe Ribeiro Ana C Brito Pedro M Félix Google Joshua A Heumüller Filipa Afonso Paula Chainho Ricardo F Lima Filipe Ribeiro Ana C Brito Pedro M Félix Google Scholar Joshua A Heumüller Filipa Afonso Paula Chainho Ricardo F Lima Filipe Ribeiro Ana C Brito Pedro M Félix PubMed Joshua A Heumüller Filipa Afonso Paula Chainho Ricardo F Lima Filipe Ribeiro Ana C Brito Pedro M Félix Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. 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