The Manche-à-Eau Mangrove Lagoon, Guadeloupe (16°16'N; 61°33'W), French West Indies, in the Life Cycle of Coastal Fish Species

Abstract : The functioning of the Manche-à-Eau lagoon and of its mangrove environment with the population of marine fish of Guadeloupe has been studied since 1983, and particularly in the 2000s. This ecosystem supports a stable fish assemblage structure because of its twice a day turnover (14.8%) of marine water. It is a favorable and important site for the reproduction (38%) and growth (46%) of a large number of species. The life cycle of these fish species share, for the most part, an ecophase in the mangrove in brackish water and a marine ecophase outside the lagoon. The mangrove plays a vital role in the retention of continental nutrients. This facilitates the trophic exploitation of vegetal and animal detritus bases by the fish in high population density. The majority of populations present individuals reaching length at least 40% from the known maximum length for the species, although only 38.1% have individuals longer than 300 mm. The mangrove aids in the spawning activity of fish species (41% to 58% of the total abundance) and in the reproductive (maturation, migration) process (58% in density and 70% in biomass). The sedentary species lay their eggs in the mangrove, whereas the temporary species stay there during their trophic ecophase or after a genesic migration from the sea to assure sexual maturation for both sexes in the species.