Spatial pattern of fish assemblage and the relationship with environmental factors in Yellow River Estuary and its adjacent waters in summer]

The fish community structure and its relationship with the environment in the Yellow River Estuary and its adjacent waters were studied using the data collected from bottom trawl surveys in summer (June, July, August) , 2013. A total of 44 fish species were sampled in the survey, belonging to 40 genera, 25 families, and 11 orders, and mainly composed of warm temperate and demersal fishes. Cluster analysis showed that fish assemblage in Yellow River Estuary in summer could be divided into three groups. ANOSIM (analysis of similarity) indicated that the fish species composition in Yellow River Estuary and its adjacent waters varied significantly among different groups in summer. The SIMPER (similarity of percentage) analysis revealed that Chaeturichthys stigmatias, Clupanodon punctatus, Cynoglossus joyneri and Engraulis japonica were the main species in each group and the primary discriminating species between groups for the fish assemblage in each month. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) suggested that the main environmental factors affecting the spatial patterns of fish assemblage in summer were salinity, bottom water temperature and depth.