Abstract
To examine the importance of the upper estuarine areas of Ariake Bay as a nursery ground for fish, assemblages of larvae and juveniles were compared among various aquatic habitats. The upper estuaries of the bay (the Rokkaku and Hayatsue estuaries) are brackish, highly turbid waters with high tidal velocities, and differ substantially from the Isahaya area, which has been separated from the bay by a man-made dike, to the middle estuary (the Kikuchi estuary). Abundances of larvae and juveniles were higher in the estuaries than in the open bay and Isahaya areas. Abundant species in the upper estuaries were similar to each other, but differed from those of the middle estuary. This was primarily due to larvae and juveniles of fishes that occurred almost entirely in the upper estuaries, such as Acanthogobius hasta, Boleophthalmus pectinirostris, Coilia nasus, Cynoglossus abbreviatus, Nibea albiflora, Odontamblyopus lacepedii, Trachidermus fasciatus and Tridentiger barbatus. These results suggest that the upper estuaries play an important role as nursery grounds for fishes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Able KW (2005) A re-examination of fish estuarine dependence: evidence for connectivity between estuarine and ocean habitats. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 64:5–17
Aoyama D, Kinoshita I, Fujita S (2007) The function of the inner estuary as nursery grounds for fishes in Ariake Bay. Aquabiol 29:16–25
Beck MW, Heck KJ, Able KW, Childers DL, Eggleston DB, Gillanders BM, Halpern B, Hays CG, Hoshino K, Minello TJ, Orth RJ, Sheridan PF, Weinstein MP (2001) The identification, conservation and management of estuarine and marine nurseries for fish and invertebrates. Bioscience 51:633–641
Bennett WA, Kimmerer WJ, Burau JR (2002) Plasticity in vertical migration by native and exotic estuarine fishes in a dynamic low salinity zone. Limnol Oceanogr 47:1496–1507
Blaber SJM, Blaber TG (1980) Factors affecting the distribution of juvenile estuarine and inshore fish. J Fish Biol 17:143–162
Day JW, Hall CAS, Kemp WM, Yanez-Arancibia A (1989) Estuarine ecology. Wiley-Interscience, USA
Dotu Y (1957) Bionomics and life history of the goby, Triaenopogon barbatus (Günther) in the innermost part of Ariake Sound. Bull Fac Agr Kyushu Univ 16:261–274
Fujita S, Kinoshita I, Kawamura Y, Aoyama D (2007) The diversity in the early life history of Lateolabrax japonicus in the Ariake Bay. Aquabiol 29:47–54
Hayashi M, Ishida Y, Ueda T (2000) The spawning season of the tonguefish, Cynoglossus abbreviatus, in the Ariake Sea. Bull Fukuoka Fish Mar Tec Res Cent 10:19–22
Hibino M, Ohta T, Kinoshita I, Tanaka M (2002) Fish larvae and juveniles occurring in the littoral zone of a tidal flat in the bottom of Ariake Bay. Jpn J Ichthyol 49:109–120
Hibino M, Ohta T, Isoda T, Nakayama K, Tanaka M (2007) Distribution of Japanese temperate bass, Lateolabrax japonicus, eggs and pelagic larvae in Ariake Bay. Ichthyol Res 54:367–373
Hoss DE, Thayer GW (1993) The importance of habitat to the early life history of estuarine dependent fishes. Am Fish Soc Symp 14:147–158
Inoue N (1980) Physical environment of Ariake Bay. Mar Sci Mon 124:116–125
Islam MS, Hibino M, Tanaka M (2006) Distribution and diets of larval and juvenile fishes: influence of salinity gradient and turbidity maximum in a temperate estuary in upper Ariake Bay, Japan. Estu Coast Shelf Sci 68:62–74
Kanou K, Koike T, Shibukawa K, Kohno H (1999) Larvae and juveniles of two gobiids, Chaenogobius uchidai and C.macrognathos, collected from tidelands in the inner bay of Tokyo Bay. La Mer 37:59–68
Kendall AW, Ahlstrom EH Jr, Moser HG (1984) Early life history stages of fishes and their characters. In: Moser HG, Richards WJ, Cohen DM, Fahay MP, Kendall AW Jr and Richardson SL (eds) Ontogeny and systematics of fishes. Am Soc Ichthyol Herpetol, Spec Publ 1. Lawrence, pp 11–22
Kimoto S (1976) Animal community research method I. Kyoritsu Shuppan, Tokyo
Kinoshita I (2007) Reviewing importance as nursery ground for fishes of Isahaya Bay. Aquabiol 29:69–74
Kinoshita I, Fujita S, Takahashi I, Azuma K, Noichi T, Tanaka M (1995) A morphological and meristic comparison of larval and juvenile temperate bass, Lateolabrax japonicus from various sites in western to central Japan. Jpn J Ichthyol 42:165–171
Kinoshita I, Seikai T, Tanaka M, Kuwamura K (2000) Geographic variations in dorsal and anal ray counts of juvenile Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, in the Japan Sea. Environ Biol Fish 57:305–313
Koshiishi Y, Ohsaka Y, Hayashi M, Sano M, Murai T (2001) Distribution and growth of 0-age-group tonguefish (Cynoglossus lighti) in northeast Ariake Sound. Bull Fish Res Agen 1:23–34
Kuipers B (1975) On the efficiency of a two-metre beam trawl for juvenile place (Pleuronectes platessa). Neth J Sea Res 9:69–85
Matsui S, Nakagawa K, Tomishige SI (1987) Ecological studies of the engraulid fish, Coilia nasus, III. Appearance and feeding habits of the juveniles in the Chikugo River (Japan). Sci Bull Fac Agr Kyushu Univ 41:55–62
Matsumiya Y, Mitani T, Tanaka M (1982) Changes in distribution pattern and condition coefficient of the juvenile Japanese sea bass with the Chikugo River ascending. Bull Jpn Soc Sci Fish 48:129–138
Menezes MM, Taniguchi N, Seki S (1990) Degree of intraspecific genetic divergence and variability in three sciaenid species. Jpn J Ichthyol 37:39–48
Nakabo T (2000) Fishes of Japan with pictorial keys to the species, 2nd edn. Tokai Univ Press, Tokyo
Nelson JS (2006) Fishes of the world, 4th edn. Wiley, Hobken
North EW, Houde ED (2003) Linking ETM physics, zooplankton prey, and fish early-life histories to striped bass Morone saxatilis and white perch M. Americana recruitment. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 260:219–239
Ohta T, Arai N, Tanaka M (1997) Otolith Sr concentration analyzed by PIXE in Ariake estuarine-dependent sea bass juveniles. Int J PIXE 7:147–151
Sirois P, Dodson JJ (2000) Critical periods and growth-dependent survival of larvae of an estuarine fish, the rainbow smelt Osmerus mordax. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 203:233–245
Takita T (1974) Studies on the early life history of Nibea albiflora (Richardson) in Ariake Sound. Bull Fac Fish Nagasaki Univ 38:1–55
Takita T (1978) Identification of a species of Coilia (Engraulidae) distributed in Ariake Sound. Jpn J Ichthyol 25:223–226
Takita T (1980) Fish in Ariake Bay. Mar Sci Mon 124:105–115
Takita T (2000) Fish. In: Sato M (ed) Life in Ariake Bay: biodiversity in tidal flats and estuaries. Kaiyu-sha, Tokyo, pp 213–252
Takita T, Chikamoto H (1994) Distribution and life history of Trachidermus fasciatus in rivers around Ariake Sound, Japan. Jpn J Ichthyol 41:123–129
Takita T, Komura D, Kawahara I, Mori Y, Nakashima N, Ito S (2003) Distribution of fishes in the innermost area of Ariake Sound. Bull Saga Pref Ariake Fish Res Dev Cent 21:81–98
Tanaka S (1933) The origin of distribution of fishes in Ariake Bay, Kyushu. Dobutsugaku Zasshi 45:38–40
Uchida K, Tsukahara H (1955) The fish-fauna of Ariake Sound. Bull Biogeogr Soc Jpn 16:292–302
Van der Veer HW, Bergman MJH (1986) Development of tidally related behavior of a newly settled 0-group plaice (Pleuronectes platessa L.) population in the western Wadden Sea. Mar Ecol Progr Ser 31:121–129
Van der Veer HW, Dapper R, Witte JIJ (2001) The nursery function of the intertidal areas in the western Wadden Sea for 0-group sole Solea solea (L.). J Sea Res 45:271–279
Yagi Y, Kinoshita I, Fujita S, Ueda H, Aoyama D (2009) Comparison of early life histories of two Cynoglossus species in the inner estuary of Ariake Bay, Japan. Ichthyol Res 56:363–371
Yamaguchi M (2006) Biological studies on the resource of Shirauo, Salangichthys microdon, in the Ishikari River system and its adjacent nearshore sea area. Sci Rep Hokkaido Fish Exper Sta 70:1–72
Yamaguchi A, Koman K, Takita T (2009) Fish fauna in Ariake Sound. In: Nature Conservation Committee of Ichthyological Society of Japan (ed) Fishes in estuarine and tidal flat ecosystems: status of endangered fishes in Ariake Sound. Tokai Univ Press, Tokyo, pp 16–32
Yamashita Y, Tominaga O, Takami H, Yamada Y (2003) Comparison of growth, feeding and cortisol level in Platichthys bicoloratus juveniles between estuarine and nearshore nursery grounds. J Fish Biol 63:617–630
Acknowledgments
We express our gratitude to J.M. Leis and T.W. Miller for his critical reading the manuscript. We are grateful to T. Noguchi and K. Kuno, Saga Prefectural Government, for their assistance with this study and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. Sincerely, thank for assistance of our laboratory staffs for their support during field researches. This work was partially supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan (no. 20580203).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yagi, Y., Kinoshita, I., Fujita, S. et al. Importance of the upper estuary as a nursery ground for fishes in Ariake Bay, Japan. Environ Biol Fish 91, 337–352 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-011-9790-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-011-9790-6