ECOLOGY OF THE AGULHAS CURRENT REGION: AN ASSESSMENT OF BIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS IN THE SOUTH-WEST INDIAN OCEAN

Abstract

Summary Waters of the southern African east coast are characterized by the Agulhas Current and related circulatory systems, a narrow continental shelf, the entry of many rivers into the sea and pronounced longshore sediment transport. An attempt is made to elucidate the response of marine life and in particular planktonic organisms, spiny lobsters, marine turtles, sharks, and estuarine and marine teleost fishes to this environmental regime.