Application of fish indices to assess human estuarine impacts

This research programme covers a number of interrelated projects that include the development and application of a Fish Recruitment Index (FRI), a Fish Importance Rating (FIR) index, and an Estuarine Fish Community Index (EFCI) to South African estuaries. It also includes the use of fish guilds to understand the structure and functioning of fish communities within different types of estuaries. A primary aim of these studies is to develop and apply indices and guild analyses to assessments of individual estuaries and to provide information on the influence of human perturbations on fish communities.