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Spatial and interannual variability of presettlement tropical fish assemblages explained by remote sensing oceanic conditions

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Abstract

Understanding the interannual effect of various environmental factors on biodiversity distribution is fundamental for developing biological monitoring tools. The interannual variability of environmental factors on presettlement fish assemblages (PFAs) has been so far under investigated, especially in Madagascar. Numerous explanatory variables including local hydro-dynamic conditions recorded during the sampling night, characteristics of the benthic substrate and remotely sensed oceanic conditions (RSOC) were used to explain the spatio-temporal variability of PFAs in southwestern Madagascar. Gradient forest analyses were used to hierarchically classify the effect of these explanatory variables on the PFAs for two sites and during two different recruitment seasons. RSOC variables appeared to better explain the PFAs than the local variable and the characteristics of the benthic substrate. The PFAs caught in water masses with coastal characteristics were better explained than those with open water characteristics. This spatial variability is hypothesised to be linked to differences in feeding conditions among water masses. The gradient forest analyses also highlighted the complexity of predicting PFAs as the species for which abundances were better explained by RSOC variables varied between years. This interannual variability was mainly explained by the interannual variation of chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration, wind and surface current, with better prediction obtained during the year with high Chl a values associated with high averaged sea surface temperature. These findings suggest the importance of forecasting Chl a concentrations, taking into account the impact of tropical storms and climate variability in order to predict PFAs in the future.

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Acknowledgements

Our acknowledgements going to the research assistants (J. J. Marcellin, D. Fiandria, R. Tsipy, Tovondrainy, and Noelson) for conducting fish sampling, and to the team of the ‘Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier’ (ISEM) for sequencing our fish tissues, and the Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines for issuing research permit. We also thank the three reviewers for their constructive remarks leading to the improvement our manuscript quality.

Funding

This work was co-funded by the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (JEAI-ACOM/IH.SM-IRD) in France, and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (MG-66341) in United States.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines, Université de Toliara, Rue Dr. Rabesandratana, 601, Toliara, Madagascar

    Henitsoa Jaonalison & Jamal Mahafina

  2. MARBEC, IRD, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, Montpellier, France

    Jean-Dominique Durand

  3. MARBEC, (IRD, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer), Centre de Sète, France

    Hervé Demarcq

  4. Université de Perpignan Via Domitia-CNRS, Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens, UMR 5110, F 66860, Perpignan, France

    Raphaël Lagarde

  5. ENTROPIE, IRD-Université de La Réunion-CNRS, Laboratoire d’Excellence CORAIL, c/o Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines, Université de Toliara, Rue Dr. Rabesandratana,, 601, Toliara, Madagascar

    Dominique Ponton

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  1. Henitsoa Jaonalison
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Correspondence to Henitsoa Jaonalison.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed by the authors.

Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Author contribution

HJ, JM, HD and DP conceived and designed research. HJ conducted fieldwork and labwork. HJ, JDD and DP performed specimen identification. HJ, RL and DP analyzed data. HJ wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Communicated by S. E. Lluch-Cota

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Jaonalison, H., Durand, JD., Mahafina, J. et al. Spatial and interannual variability of presettlement tropical fish assemblages explained by remote sensing oceanic conditions. Mar. Biodivers. 50, 52 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-020-01068-6

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