Abstract

TUYA, F; MARTIN, JA  and  LUQUE, A. Seasonal cycle of a Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadow and of the associated ichthyofauna at Playa Dorada (Lanzarote, Canary Islands, eastern Atlantic). Cienc. mar [online]. 2006, vol.32, n.4, pp.695-704. ISSN 0185-3880.

The seasonal cycle of a mixed seagrass meadow of Cymodocea nodosa and Caulerpa prolifera and of the associated ichthyofauna was studied at Playa Dorada (Lanzarote, Canary Islands, eastern Atlantic) from March 2001 to April 2002. A seasonal (bimodal) cycle was clearly observed, with maximum values in spring and summer (April-September) and minimum in winter (December-March). Shoot densities oscillated between 372 and 1014 shoots m^-2, the biomass of Cymodocea nodosa between 94 and 271 g DW m^-2, total vegetal biomass between 94 and 383 g DW m^-2 and mean leaf lengths between 10 and 18 cm. Mean fish richness fluctuated between 0.7 and 5.3 species and total fish densities between 2.0 and 144.0 ind 100 m^-2. There was a clear correlation between the cycles of C. nodosa and the associated fish population.

Keywords : seagrass meadows; marine phanerogams; fish assemblages; seasonality; Canary Islands.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )