Fish species community composition of Curacao bays and reef

Haan, Manon den (2020) Fish species community composition of Curacao bays and reef. Master's Research Project 2, Marine Biology.

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Abstract

Tropical coastal bays often border coral reefs and host connected ecosystems such as seagrass beds and mangrove forests. Similarly, the bays of the Caribbean island of Curaçao support unique coastal systems that include submerged multi-species seagrass beds and fringing red mangroves. These marine plants are form productive systems that are an important habitat for a variety of species. This includes nursery habitats for juvenile coral reef fish species, which utilizes food resources and refuge for predators prior to migrating to the coral reef. Many Caribbean marine habitats are under pressure due to growing tourism, overfishing and climate change, resulting in fish species disappearing form the reef. Concurrent, nursery habitats are threatened by coastal construction and eutrophication of waters. For effective protection of fish species, it is essential to include all lifecycles and their habitats. This study focused on 1) determining the fish species community composition of 6 Curaçao bays and reefs, focusing on five nursery species (French grunt, Schoolmaster, Mangrove snapper, Yellowtail snapper and Mutton snapper). 2) Determine how environmental factors influence the fish species community composition, and 3) get insight in the historical changes in reef fish species community composition in the last 25 years. For this, conducted a field survey across 6 Curaçao bays (Bartolbaai, Fuikbaai, Piscadera, Santa Martha, Sint Joris, and Spanish Water) and adjacent reefs.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master's Research Project 2)
Supervisor name:	Govers, L.L.
Degree programme:	Marine Biology
Thesis type:	Master's Research Project 2
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	04 Aug 2020 11:17
Last Modified:	04 Aug 2020 11:17
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/22953

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