Diversity of the Ichthyofauna of Estuaries in Southeastern Trinidad

Abstract

Estuaries are highly productive aquatic systems. Five rivers in Guayaguayare Bay were sampled for fish by seining. During the survey, 25 species in 21 families representing eight orders were collected or observed. The most abundant species, Mugil curema, accounted for 56% of total catch. For the majority of species encountered, the size-frequency distributions revealed populations comprised largely of subadults and juveniles. Dissimilarity of inventories between sites may be related to a combination of biotic and abiotic factors. It is proposed that each species is maintained over the entire coastline by a series of incompletely independent populations and that these estuaries collectively represent one large metacommunity.