Ecology of the Australian mudskipper Periophthalmus minutus, an amphibious fish inhabiting a mudflat in the highest intertidal zone
Tatsusuke Takeda A , Masahiro Hayashi B , Atsushi Toba B , Kiyoshi Soyano B and Atsushi Ishimatsu B C D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Animal and Marine Bioresource Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Hakozaki, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan.
B Institute for East China Sea Research, Nagasaki University, Tairamachi, Nagasaki 851-2213, Japan.
C Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia.
D Corresponding author. Email: a-ishima@nagasaki-u.ac.jp
Australian Journal of Zoology 59(5) 312-320 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO11059
Submitted: 16 August 2011 Accepted: 28 February 2012 Published: 3 April 2012
Abstract
A population of Periophthalmus minutus inhabiting a mudflat in the highest intertidal zone in Darwin was investigated for surface activity, feeding and reproduction in relation to environmental conditions in the dry (August) and wet (February) seasons. On days with tidal inundation, the fish were diurnally active on the exposed mudflat surface at low tide, but retreated into burrows during daytime inundation and at night. Temperatures above 40°C and heavy precipitation suppressed the daytime surface activity of the fish. During neap tides, the mudflat remained uncovered by the tide for nine days in both seasons. The fish confined themselves in burrows without ingested food throughout the nine-day period in August, but they remained active on the mudflat surface and kept foraging in February. The salinity of burrow water during the nine-day emersion was extremely high (72 ± 6 psu, mean ± s.d.) in August, but lower (46 ± 9), though still higher than the open seawater value (34), in February. The burrows were J-shaped in February, but were straight (with no upturn) in August. Fertilised eggs were collected from the upturned portionof the burrow, and hatched upon submersion. Juveniles occurred in water pools on the mudflat surface in March.
Additional keywords: environmental stress, natural history, reproductive strategy.
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