Spatial and temporal variability of fish assemblage in Kuwait Bay

Spatial and temporal variability of fish assemblages in Kuwait Bay was studied using the catch data acquired through monthly otter trawl sampling from June 2002 through July 2004. We compared species composition using relative species density and cluster analysis among different seasons (summer’02, summer’03, winter’03, and spring’04) and areas (center, south 1, south 2, west, north and east). Significant differences in total species, species richness (SR), diversity (H′), and fish abundance were tested among (between) different seasons and areas using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan’s test. The results showed that the catches consisted of 80 species representing 41 families with Leiognathus bindus and Plicofollis tenuispinis dominating numerically. Spatially, species composition fell into three main areas: (1) east; (2) south 1 and south 2; and (3) north, center, and west. Temporally, winter’03 and spring’04 were closely related, but we found low similarity between the two summers and even lower similarity between the summers and other seasons, indicating high intra-annual variation. L. bindus was abundant in most of the areas except south 1, south 2 and the east area. Spatial changes of abundance of the two dominant species showed a complementary trend. Where L. bindus was numerically high, P. tenuispinis was low, and vice versa. Significant lower total species number and SR were observed in south 2 than all the other areas except the east, and significant higher fish abundance occurred in the summers than during the other seasons. Overall, it was concluded that variation in fish assemblages was area dependent, while fish abundance was mainly influenced by seasonal changes.