| In considering the use of estuarine habitats by fish assemblages, alternative views of the assemblage are increasingly being explored, based on functional rather than taxonomic aspects. The allocation of all taxa to a number of functional guilds allows a description of fish assemblages in terms of vertical zonation, habitat preferences, including the substratum preference of benthic/demersal species, and dietary preferences. This paper presents the first comparison of the structure of the fish assemblages in the tidal marshes of 6 European estuaries (Bay of Cadiz, Spain; Mira, Portugal; Loire, France; Westerschelde, The Netherlands; Humber, UK; Forth, UK). Cluster analysis was used to compare the assemblages recorded in 29 tidal marsh and associated... |
