SpringerLink
Log in

Estuaries – how challenging are these constantly changing aquatic environments for associated fish species?

  • Published:
Environmental Biology of Fishes Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Much has been written about the abundance of fishes in estuaries, and particularly the value of the littoral zone and associated macrophyte habitats as fish nursery areas. What has not been researched or discussed in the same amount of detail is that estuaries are demanding physico-chemical environments for fishes, yet each year millions of 0 + juveniles are recruited into these supposedly stressful nurseries. This review focuses on three primary variables; salinity, temperature and turbidity, and highlights the ability of estuary-associated fish species to withstand apparent extreme conditions associated with these physico-chemical drivers in order to benefit from the rich food resources and possible low predation rates present within most systems. However, there is increasing evidence that global change, including climate change, is resulting in these driving variables becoming more extreme, which will test even the most eurytopic estuarine species now and in the future.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Attrill MJ, Power M (2004) Partitioning of temperature resources amongst an estuarine fish assemblage. Est Coast Shelf Sci 61:725–738

  • Barletta M, Barletta-Bergen A, Saint-Paul U, Hubold G (2005) The role of salinity in structuring in structuring the fish assemblages in tropical estuaries. J Fish Biol 66:45–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Benfield MC, Minello TJ (1996) Relative effects of turbidity and light intensity on reactive distance and feeding of an estuarine fish. Environ Biol Fish 46:211–216

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett BA (2010) A mass mortality of fish associated with low salinity conditions in the Bot River estuary. Trans Roy Soc S Afr 45:437–447

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaber SJM (1973) Temperature and salinity tolerance of juvenile Rhabdosargus holubi (Steindachner) (Teleostei: Sparidae). J Fish Biol 5:593598

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaber SJM (1974) Osmoregulation in juvenile Rhabdosargus holubi (Steindachner) (Teleostei: Sparidae). J Fish Biol 6:797800

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaber SJM (1980) Fish of the Trinity Inlet system of north Queensland with notes on the ecology of fish faunas of tropical Indo-Pacific estuaries. Aust J Mar Freshw Res 31:137–146

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaber SJM (1981) The zoogeographical affinities of estuarine fishes in southeast Africa. S Afr J Sci 77:305307

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaber SJM (1991) Deep sea, estuarine and freshwater fishes: life history strategies and ecological boundaries. S Afr J Aquat Sci 17:2–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaber SJM, Blaber TG (1980) Factors influencing the distribution of juvenile estuarine and inshore fish. J Fish Biol 17:143–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaber SJM, Whitfield AK (1976) Large scale mortality of fish at St Lucia. S Afr J Sci 72:218

    Google Scholar 

  • Cloern JE (1987) Turbidity as a control on phytoplankton biomass and productivity in estuaries. Cont Shelf Res 7:1367–1381

    Google Scholar 

  • Cyrus DP (1988a) Turbidity and other physical factors in Natal estuarine systems. Part 1: Selected estuaries. J Limnol Soc Sth Afr 14:6071

    Google Scholar 

  • Cyrus DP (1988b) Turbidity and other physical factors in Natal estuarine systems. Part 2: Estuarine lakes. J Limnol Soc Sth Af 14:7281

    Google Scholar 

  • Cyrus DP, Blaber SJM (1987a) The influence of turbidity on juvenile marine fish in the estuaries of Natal, South Africa. Cont Shelf Res 7:14111416

    Google Scholar 

  • Cyrus DP, Blaber SJM (1987b) The influence of turbidity on juvenile marine fishes in estuaries. Part 1. Field studies at Lake St Lucia on the southeastern coast of Africa. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 109:5370

    Google Scholar 

  • Cyrus DP, Blaber SJM (1987c) The influence of turbidity on juvenile marine fishes in estuaries. Part 2. Laboratory studies, comparisons with field data and conclusions. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 109:7191

    Google Scholar 

  • Cyrus DP, Blaber SJM (1992) Turbidity and salinity in a tropical northern Australian estuary and their influence on fish distribution. Est Coast Shelf Sci 35:545–563

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cyrus DP, Vivier L (2006) Status of the estuarine fish fauna in the St Lucia estuarine system, South Africa, after 30 months of mouth closure. Afr J Aquat Sci 31:71–81

    Google Scholar 

  • Cyrus DP, Vivier L, Jerling HL (2010) Effect of hypersaline and low lake conditions on ecological functioning of St Lucia estuarine system, South Africa: an overview 2002–2008. Est Coast Shelf Sci 86:535–542

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dando PR (1984) Reproduction in estuarine fish. In: Potts GW, Wootton RJ (eds) Fish Reproduction: Strategies and Tactics. Academic, London

    Google Scholar 

  • de Jonge VN, Schuttelaars HM, van Beusekom JEE, Talke SA, de Swart HE (2014) The influence of channel deepening on estuary turbidity levels and dynamics, as evidenced by the Ems estuary. Est Coast Shelf Sci 139:46–59

    Google Scholar 

  • Dionne J-C (1984) An estimate of ice-drifted sediments based on the mud content of the ice cover at Montmagny, middle St Lawrence Estuary. Mar Geol 57:149–166

    Google Scholar 

  • dos Santos Sales N, Baeta ASBV, de Lima LG, Pessanha ALM (2018) Do the shallow-water habitats of a hypersaline tropical estuary act as nursery grounds for fishes? Mar Ecol 39:e12473

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliott M, Quintino V (2006) The Estuarine Quality Paradox, Environmental Homeostasis and the difficulty of detecting anthropogenic stress in naturally stressed areas. Mar Poll Bull 54:640–645

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliott M, Whitfield AK (2011) Challenging paradigms in estuarine ecology and management. Est Coast Shelf Sci 94:306–314

    Google Scholar 

  • Eme J, Dabruzzi TF, Bennett WA (2011) Thermal responses of juvenile squaretail mullet (Liza vaigiensis) and juvenile crescent tarpon (Terapon jarbua) acclimated at near-lethal temperatures, and the implications for climate change. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 399:35–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Fatema K, Maznah WOW, Isa MM (2014) Spatial and temporal variation of physic-chemical parameters in the Merbok Estuary, Kedha, Malaysia. Trop Life Sci Res 25:1–19

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Froneman PW (2002) Seasonal changes in selected physico-chemical and biological variables in the temporarily open/closed Kasouga estuary, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Afr J Aquat Sci 27:117–123

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia AM, Vieira JP, Winemiller KO (2003) Effects of 1997–1998 El Niiňo on the dynamics of the shallow-water fish assemblage of the Patos Lagoon estuary (Brazil). Est Coast Shelf Sci 57:489–500

    Google Scholar 

  • Garvine RW (1975) The distribution of salinity and temperature in the Connecticut River estuary. J Geophys Res 80:1176–1183

    Google Scholar 

  • Geddes MC (1987) Changes in salinity and the distribution of macrophytes, macrobenthos and fish in the Coorong lagoons, South Australia, following a period of River Murray flow. Trans R Soc S Aust 111:74–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Geyer WR (1993) The importance of suppression of turbulence by stratification on the estuarine turbidity maximum. Estuaries 16:113–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Giffard-Mena I, Hernández-Montiel AH, Pérez-Robles J, David-True C (2020) Effects of salinity on survival and plasma osmolality of Totoaba macdonaldi eggs, larvae and juveniles. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2020.151339

  • Gillanders BM, Elsdon TS, Halliday IA, Jenkins GP, Robins JB, Valesini FJ (2011) Potential effects of climate change on Australian estuaries and fish utilising estuaries: a review. Mar Freshwat Res 62:1115–1131

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillanders BM, McMillan MN, Reis-Santos P, Baumgartner LJ, Brown LR, Conallin J, Feyrer V, Henriques S, James NC, Jaureguizar AJ, Pessanha ALM, Vasconcelos RP, Vu AV, Walther B, Wibowo A (2021) Chap. 7. Climate change and fishes in estuaries. In: Whitfield AK, Able KW, Blaber SJM, Elliott M (eds) Fish and Fisheries in Estuaries: A Global Perspective. Wiley, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • Grange N, Allanson BR (1995) The influence of freshwater inflow on the nature, amount and distribution of seston in estuaries of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Est Coast Shelf Sci 40:403–420

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison TD, Whitfield AK (2006) Temperature and salinity as primary determinants influencing the biogeography of fishes in South African estuaries. Est Coast Shelf Sci 66:335–345

    Google Scholar 

  • Hecht T, van der Lingen CD (1992) Turbidity-induced changes in feeding strategies of fish in estuaries. S Afr J Zool 27:95–107

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoeksema SM, Chuwen M, Potter IC (2006) Massive mortalities of black bream, Acanthopagrus butcheri(Sparidae) in two normally closed estuaries, following enormous increases in salinity. J Mar Biol Soc UK 86:893–897

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoeksema SM, Chuwen M, Tweedley JR, Potter IC (2018) Factors influencing marked variations in the frequency and timing of bar breaching and salinity and oxygen regimes among normally-closed estuaries. Est Coast Shelf Sci 208:205–218

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holliday FGT (1969) The effects of salinity on the eggs and larvae of teleosts. Fish Physiol 1:293–311

    Google Scholar 

  • Hossain MA, Aktar S, Qin JG (2016) Salinity stress response in estuarine fishes from the Murray Estuary and Coorong, South Australia. Fish Physiol Biochem 42:1571–1580

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Irigoien X, Castel J (1997) Light limitation and distribution of chlorophyll pigments in a highly turbid estuary: the Gironde (SW France). Est Coast Shelf Sci 44:507–517

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kimmerer WJ (2002) Physical, biological, and management responses to variable freshwater flow into San Francisco Estuary. Estuaries 25:1275–1290

    Google Scholar 

  • Krumme U (2009) Chap. 8. Diel and tidal movements by fish and decapods linking tropical coastal systems. In: Nagelkerken I (ed) Ecological Connectivity among Tropical Coastal Ecosystems. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 271–325

    Google Scholar 

  • Largier JL, Slinger JH (1991) Circulation in highly stratified southern African estuaries. Sth Afr J Aquat Sci 17:103–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Largier JL, Hollibaugh JT, Smith SV (1997) Seasonally hypersaline estuaries in Mediterranean-climate regions. Est Coast Shelf Sci 45:789–797

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrie RA, Stretch DD (2011) Occurrence and persistence of water level/salinity states and the ecological impacts for St Lucia estuarine lake, South Africa. Est Coast Shelf Sci 95:67–76

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lowe ML, Morrison MA, Taylor RB (2015) Harmful effects of sediment-induced turbidity on juvenile fish in estuaries. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 539:242–254

    Google Scholar 

  • Lunt J, Smee DL (2014) Turbidity influences trophic interactions in estuaries. Limnol Oceanogr 59:2002–2012

    Google Scholar 

  • Madeira D, Narciso L, Cabral HN, Vinagre C (2012) Thermal Influence and potential impacts of climate change on coastal and estuarine organisms. J Sea Res 70:32–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Madeira D, Narciso L, Cabral HN, Vinagre C, Diniz MS (2013) Influence of temperature in thermal and oxidative stress responses in estuarine fish. Comp Biochem Physiol A 166:237–243

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martin TJ (1988) Interaction of salinity and temperature as a mechanism for spatial separation of three coexisting species of Ambassidae (Cuvier)(Teleostei) in estuaries on the southeast coast of Africa. J Fish Biol 33(Suppl A):915

  • Martin SB, Hitch AT, Purcell KM, Klerks PL, Leberg PL (2009) Life history variation along a salinity gradient in coastal marshes. Aquat Biol 8:15–28

    Google Scholar 

  • McCormick SD (2001) Endocrine control of osmoregulation in teleost fish. Amer Zool 41:781–794

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nichols MM (1977) Response and recovery of an estuary following a river flood. J Sediment Petrol 47:1171–1186

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholson G, Jenkins GP, Sherwood J, Longmore A (2008) Physical environmental conditions, spawning and early life-stages of an estuarine fish: climate change implications for recruitment in intermittently open estuaries. Mar Freshw Res 59:735–749

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson MS, Ross ST (1991) Dynamics of littoral fishes and decapods along a coastal river-estuarine gradient. Est Coast Shelf Sci 33:467–483

    Google Scholar 

  • Potter IC, Beckley LE, Whitfield AK, Lenanton RCJ (1990) Comparisons between the roles played by estuaries in the life cycles of fishes in temperate Western Australia and Southern Africa. Environ Biol Fish 28:143178

    Google Scholar 

  • Ralston DK, Rockwell Geyer W, Lerczak JA (2010) Structure, variability, and salt flux in a strongly forced salt wedge estuary. J Geophys Res 115. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JC005806

  • Reid GK, Wood RD (1976) Chap. 5. Estuaries. In: Ecology of Inland Waters and Estuaries. Van Nostrand, New York, pp 93–107

    Google Scholar 

  • Roessig JM, Woodley CM, Cech JJ, Hansen LJ (2004) Effects of global climate change on marine and estuarine fishes and fisheries. Rev Fish Biol Fisher 14:251–275

    Google Scholar 

  • Sakamoto T, McCormick SD (2006) Prolactin and growth hormone in fish osmoregulation. Gen Comp Endocrinol 147:24–30

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scanes E, Scanes PR, Ross PM (2020) Climate change rapidly warms and acidifies Australian estuaries. Nature Comm. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15550-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schroeder WW, Dinnel SP, Wiseman WJ (1990) Salinity stratification in a river-dominated estuary. Estuaries 13:145–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheaves M, Johnston R (2008) Influence of marine and freshwater connectivity on the dynamics of subtropical estuarine wetland fish metapopulations. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 357:224–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Sholkovitz ER (1976) Flocculation of dissolved organic and inorganic matter during the mixing of river water and sea water. Geochem Cosmochim Acta 40:831–845

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith LS (1982) Introduction to Fish Physiology. TFH Publications, Neptune, pp 1–352

    Google Scholar 

  • Sogard SM (1992) Variability in growth rates of juvenile fishes in different estuarine habitats. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 85:35–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Sylvester JR, Nash CE, Emberson CR (1975) Salinity and oxygen tolerances of eggs and larvae of Hawaiian striped mullet, Mugil cephalus L. J Fish Biol 7:621–629

    Google Scholar 

  • Ter Morshuizen LD, Whitfield AK, Paterson AW (1996) Influence of freshwater flow regime on fish assemblages in the Great Fish River and estuary. Sth Afr J Aquat Sci 22:52–61

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorman S (1986) Seasonal colonisation and effects of salinity and temperature on species richness and abundance of fish of some brackish and estuarine shallow waters in Sweden. Ecography 9:126–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Toft JD, Munsch SH, Cordell JR, Siitari K, Hare VC, Holycross BM, DeBruyckere LA, Greene CM, Hughes BB (2018) Impact of multiple stressors on juvenile fish in estuaries of the northeast Pacific. Glob Change Biol 24:2008–2020

    Google Scholar 

  • Tweedley JR, Dittmann SR, Whitfield AK, Withers K, Hoeksema SD, Potter IC (2019) Chap. 30 – Hypersalinity: global distribution, causes, and present and future effects on the biota of estuaries and lagoons. In: Wolanski E, Day J, Elliott M, Ramachandran R (eds) Coasts and Estuaries: The Future. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 523–546

    Google Scholar 

  • Uncles RJ, Stephens JA, Smith RE (2002) The dependence of estuarine turbidity on tidal intrusion length, tidal range and residence time. Cont Shelf Res 22:1835–1856

    Google Scholar 

  • Utne-Palm AC (2002) Visual feeding of fish in a turbid environment: physical and behavioural aspects. Mar Fresh Behav Physiol 35:111–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Waltham NJ, Sheaves M (2017) Acute thermal tolerance of tropical estuarine fish occupying a man-made tidal lake, and increased exposure risk with climate change. Est Coast Shelf Sci 196:173–181

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster IT (2010) The hydrodynamics and salinity regime of a coastal lagoon – the Coorong, Australia – seasonal to multi-decadal timescales. Est Coast Shelf Sci 90:264–274

    Google Scholar 

  • Wedderburn SO, Bailey CP, Delean S, Paton DC (2016) Population and osmoregulatory responses of a euryhaline fish to extreme salinity fluctuations in coastal lagoons of the Coorong, Australia. Est Coast Shelf Sci 168:40–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitfield AK (1995) Mass mortalities of fish in South African estuaries. S Afr J Aquat Sci 21:29–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitfield AK (2015) Why are there so few freshwater fish species in most estuaries? J Fish Biol 86:1227–1250

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Whitfield AK (2017) The role of seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, salt marshes and reed beds as nursery areas and food sources for fishes in estuaries. Rev Fish Biol Fisher 27:75–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitfield AK (2019) Fishes of southern African estuaries: from species to systems. Smithiana Monogr 4:1–495

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitfield AK (2020a) Littoral habitats as major nursery areas for fish species in estuaries: a reinforcement of the reduced predation paradigm. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 649:219–234

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitfield AK (2020b) Fish species in estuaries – from partial association to complete dependency. J Fish Biol 97:1262–1264 ()

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Whitfield AK, Elliott M (2011) Ecosystem and biotic classifications of estuaries and coasts. In: Wolanski E, McLusky DS (eds) Treatise on Estuarine and Coastal Science, vol 1. Academic, Waltham, pp 99–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitfield AK, Harrison TD (2020) Fish species redundancy in estuaries: a major conservation concern in temperate estuaries under global change pressures. Aquat Conserv Mar Freshw Ecosyst. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitfield AK, Blaber SJM, Cyrus DP (1981) Salinity ranges of some southern African fish species occurring in estuaries. S Afr J Zool 16:151–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitfield AK, Taylor RH, Fox C, Cyrus DP (2006) Fishes and salinities in the St Lucia system – A review. Rev Fish Biol Fisher 16:1–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson JG (2002) Productivity, fisheries and aquaculture in temperate estuaries. Est Coast Shelf Sci 55:953–967

    Google Scholar 

  • Winger PV, Lasier PJ (1994) Effects of salinity on striped bass eggs and larvae from the Savannah River, Georgia. Trans Am Fish Soc 123:904–012

  • Wolanski E, Spagnol S (2000) Environmental degradation by mud in tropical estuaries. Reg Environ Change 1:152–162

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The financial support of NRF-SAIAB is gratefully acknowledged. I also thank James Tweedley for the use of the photograph and information depicted in Fig. 2.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), Grahamstown, South Africa

    Alan K. Whitfield

  2. Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science (DIFS), Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

    Alan K. Whitfield

Authors
  1. Alan K. Whitfield
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alan K. Whitfield.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The author hereby declares that this review was written without any conflicts of interest. 

Research involving animals

This review used only published literature and did not include any research on living or preserved animals requiring ethical clearance.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Whitfield, A.K. Estuaries – how challenging are these constantly changing aquatic environments for associated fish species?. Environ Biol Fish 104, 517–528 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01085-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01085-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation