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Diel variation and seasonal consistency in the fish assemblage of the non-estuarine Sulaibikhat Bay, Kuwait

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Abstract

In the period between September 1986 and August 1988, using an otter trawl, a total of 50 species from 30 families were captured in Sulaibikhat Bay, Kuwait. The dominant species were Liza carinata (Valenciennes), Pomadasys stridens (Forrskal) and Leiognathus brevirostris (Valenciennes). Although the total number of fishes captured in 1986–1987 and 1987–1988 differed by an order of magnitude, the seasonal changes in numbers, biomass and number of species in the intertidal and subtidal zones were consistent. Unbalanced three-way analysis of variance showed that significantly larger numbers of fishes and number of species, but not biomass, were captured in the intertidal at night compared to the intertidal during the day. This difference may be due to both increased net efficiency and movement of fishes into the intertidal zone at night to avoid piscivorous fishes that move from deep water into shallower water. During the day few fish are present in the intertidal zone and this may be to avoid predation by piscivorous birds. Several species of fishes were shown to have different patterns of behaviour during the diel period.

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  1. Zoology Department, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 5969, 13060, Safat, Kuwait

    J. M. Wright

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  1. J. M. Wright
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Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/Luhe

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Wright, J.M. Diel variation and seasonal consistency in the fish assemblage of the non-estuarine Sulaibikhat Bay, Kuwait. Marine Biology 102, 135–142 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391331

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