Fish Species Distribution in Seagrass Habitats of Chesapeake Bay are Structured by Abiotic and Biotic Factors

Schaffler, Jason J.; Montfrans, Jacques van; Jones, Cynthia M.; Orth, Robert J.

doi:10.1080/19425120.2013.804013

Cited by 21 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Our findings demonstrate that age‐0 Spot abundance in Delaware Bay is significantly correlated with temperature, salinity, depth, and the NAO. Like the results of our study, Spot in Chesapeake Bay were positively associated with increased temperature and salinity (Love and May 2007; Schaffler et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Exploring Trends in Abundance of Young‐of‐the‐Year and Age‐1 Atlantic Croaker, Black Drum, Spot, and Weakfish in Relation to Salinity, Temperature, and Large‐Scale Climatic Signals in a Mid‐Atlantic Estuary

et al. 2022

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Atlantic Croaker Micropogonias undulatus, Black Drum Pogonias cromis, Spot Leiostomus xanthurus, and Weakfish Cynoscion regalis have shown species‐specific, varying trends in abundance despite general declines in commercial landings throughout the Delaware River estuary. Identifying how environmental factors and climatic processes affect fishes at multiple life stages is needed to enhance the precision of regulatory actions for managed species. Species‐, area‐, and age‐specific indices were compared with depth, salinity, temperature, the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) to explore potential relationships as well as temporal and spatial parameters. Our results demonstrate that station (15 indices), salinity (14 indices), the AMO and NAO (13 indices each), and depth and temperature (12 indices each) served as important components for models of abundance for 17 species‐, age‐, and area‐specific combinations from 1991 to 2016. Significant time series trends were detected in six of the modeled indices of abundance, including baywide indices of age‐1 Weakfish (decline) and age‐0 Atlantic Croaker (increase); age‐0 Atlantic Croaker (increase) and Weakfish (decline) in Delaware; and age‐1 Spot (decline) and Weakfish (increase) in Delaware. Our results demonstrate how multiple fixed‐station surveys can be combined to quantitatively assess environmental and climatic effects correlated with species‐, age‐, and area‐specific levels of abundance, suggesting that climatic signals are affecting smaller‐scale environmental variables that in turn affect relative abundance.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Exploring Trends in Abundance of Young‐of‐the‐Year and Age‐1 Atlantic Croaker, Black Drum, Spot, and Weakfish in Relation to Salinity, Temperature, and Large‐Scale Climatic Signals in a Mid‐Atlantic Estuary

et al. 2022

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“…For example, in the Chesapeake Bay, another large estuarine system, decreases in turbidity result in decreased light attenuation and increased growth of seagrass (Moore et al 1996(Moore et al , 1997, an important habitat component for fishes and blue crabs (e.g., Schaffler et al 2013;Lipcius et al 2005). Reducing turbidity in the Chesapeake Bay through decreases in sediment supply is part of the bay-wide total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), which are designed to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem (USEPA 2010).…”

Section: Applicability To Other Estuariesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of an Observed Decadal Decline in Wind Speed on Turbidity in the San Francisco Estuary

Bever¹,

MacWilliams²,

Fullerton³

2018

Estuaries and Coasts

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Turbidity is an important habitat component in estuaries for many fishes and affects a range of other ecological functions. Decadal timescale declines in turbidity have been observed in the San Francisco Estuary (Estuary), with the declines generally attributed to a reduction in sediment supply to the Estuary and changes to the erodible sediment pool in the Estuary. However, we analyzed hourly wind data from 1995 through 2015 and found statistically significant declines of 13 to 48% in wind speed around the Estuary. This study applied a 3-D hydrodynamic, wave, and sediment transport model to evaluate the effects of the observed decrease in wind speed on turbidity in the Estuary. The reduction in wind speed over the past 20 years was predicted to result in a decrease in turbidity of 14 to 55% in Suisun Bay from October through January. These results highlight that the observed declines in both wind speed and sediment supply over the past 20 years have resulted in reduced turbidity in the San Francisco Estuary from October through January. This decline in turbidity in Suisun Bay potentially has negative effects on habitat for fish like the endangered Delta Smelt which are more commonly caught in relatively turbid water.

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“…In the lower Chesapeake Bay, silver perch Bairdiella chrysoura (Lacépède) is a numerically abundant sciaenid found in seagrass habitats during the summer months (Orth & Heck 1980, Schaffler et al 2013, Sobocinski et al 2013. Silver perch recruit to these habitats in late June, reside throughout the warm summer months, and migrate to deeper habitats in September as the water cools.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic transfer in seagrass systems: estimating seasonal production of an abundant seagrass fish, Bairdiella chrysoura, in lower Chesapeake Bay

Sobocinski¹,

Latour²

2015

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Silver perch Bairdiella chrysoura is a seasonally abundant fish in lower Chesapeake Bay seagrass habitats. Young-of-the-year fish recruit to these habitats in June and rear for the remainder of the summer before migrating to deeper habitats in the Bay and offshore as seawater cools in the fall. This species has been shown to be abundant in seagrass habitats, yet like many fishes in these habitats, little is known about its growth and production, and thus the contribution of this habitat type to overall production. We developed a bioenergetics model to estimate individual silver perch growth and calibrated this model using field-collected size data. Abundance data were used to develop a generalized additive model for predicting abundance over the simulation period (15 June to 15 October). We used the individual-based model output and estimated abundances to calculate total production. The calibrated bioenergetics model showed silver perch growth of approximately 0.19 g d −1 for total growth of 23.2 g over the simulation period. Peak abundance occurred in July with estimated values of 0.2 ind. m −2. The highest biomass was observed shortly after peak abundance. Total production for silver perch was estimated to be 22.9 g m −2 in the seagrass habitats measured. With an estimated 8100 ha of seagrass habitat in the lower Chesapeake Bay in 2010, silver perch contribute a considerable amount of biomass production. As an annually migrating species, silver perch export in excess of 7400 t of biomass to the near-coastal ecosystem, providing a trophic subsidy from seagrass habitats via trophic transfer.

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Fish Species Distribution in Seagrass Habitats of Chesapeake Bay are Structured by Abiotic and Biotic Factors

Cited by 21 publications

References 58 publications

Exploring Trends in Abundance of Young‐of‐the‐Year and Age‐1 Atlantic Croaker, Black Drum, Spot, and Weakfish in Relation to Salinity, Temperature, and Large‐Scale Climatic Signals in a Mid‐Atlantic Estuary

Exploring Trends in Abundance of Young‐of‐the‐Year and Age‐1 Atlantic Croaker, Black Drum, Spot, and Weakfish in Relation to Salinity, Temperature, and Large‐Scale Climatic Signals in a Mid‐Atlantic Estuary

Influence of an Observed Decadal Decline in Wind Speed on Turbidity in the San Francisco Estuary

Trophic transfer in seagrass systems: estimating seasonal production of an abundant seagrass fish, Bairdiella chrysoura, in lower Chesapeake Bay

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