Trophic adaptability shapes isotopic niche of the resident fish Aphanius fasciatus across lagoon habitats
Abstract Coastal lagoons are characterized by high habitat heterogeneity where natural habitats coexist with artificial ones, historically set up to support human activities. Increasing anthropogenic pressure may lead to progressive degradation of the most vulnerable lagoonal habitats and the associated biological communities. One of the strictly estuarine-dependent fish species that may be affected by the degradation of lagoon habitats is the South European toothcarp Aphanius fasciatus, archetype of Mediterranean lagoon residents. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes were used to disentangle the influence of habitat types (natural vs artificial) and fish community (multi-trophic context) on…
Vegetated Habitats Trophically Support Early Development Stages of a Marine Migrant Fish in a Coastal Lagoon
Understanding the trophic ecology of early developmental stages of commercial fish species migrating between sea and coastal lagoons is crucial to effective management of nursery habitats and resulting resources. While most information on diet shift of the gilthead seabream Sparus aurata comes from studies in experimental conditions, here we investigated the trophic niche dynamics of post-larvae, juveniles and sub-adults in natural environment, hypothesising that habitat and resources use of marine and lagoonal sites will exhibit strong relationship with ontogeny of the species. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes showed evidence of a clear shift in the trophic niche features, trophic posit…