Nekton use of Ruppia maritima and non-vegetated bottom habitat types within brackish marsh ponds

Abstract

Nekton (fishes and decapod crustaceans) use of brackish submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) habitat has been largely overlooked in comparison to fresh and marine SAV habitats. This study was designed to examine nekton use of brackish marsh SAV habitat and non-vegetated bottom. Specifically, we examined the effects of habitat location (defined by SAV distance from marsh edge) and complexity (defined by SAV biomass) on nekton community density, biomass, and diversity in shallow water brackish marsh ponds, which contained monospecific beds of Ruppia maritima L. Three habitat types were investigated: (1) inner-pond SAV (SAV habitat > 1 m from marsh edge), (2) near marsh-edge SAV (SAV habitat < 1 m from marsh edge), and (3) non-vegetated bottom. We tested the null hypotheses that nekton density, biomass, and diversity were unrelated to habitat type or habitat characteristics. Ninety-six quantitative samples were taken with a 1 m 2 throw trap between September 2001 and July 2002. Using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), a significant habitat type by season interaction was found (Wilks' λ = 0.32, F 24, 259 = 4.21, p < 0.0001) for nekton density, biomass, and diversity. Simple linear regression showed a positive relationship between SAV and nekton biomass (p < 0.0001); however, distance of the vegetated habitat from the marsh edge did not significantly influence SAV or nekton biomass. SAV biomass, but not location, appears to be a dominant factor that influences nekton use within these small brackish marsh ponds. This study highlights some of the intricacies associated with the identification and use of broad scale habitat classification for management purposes. Although brackish marsh SAV habitat types support higher densities of nekton compared to non-vegetated habitat, variation within this gross classification indicates a wide range of habitat 'value' that needs to be considered for management purposes.

Spatial, diel, and seasonal changes in the fish community structure of a Mexican tropical estuary

“…In its northern part, particularmente el golfo de México, existen numerosos estudios sobre comunidades de peces estuarinos, la información que analiza la variabilidad espaciotemporal en la estructura de estas comunidades es aún relativamente escasa (Castillo-Rivera et al 2002, 2003. Espacialmente, muchos estudios se han enfocado en la variabilidad de las comunidades de peces en ambientes estructuralmente complejos, como los hábitats con vegetación sumergida (Lubbers et al 1990, Kanouse et al 2006, Ribeiro et al 2006. En general, se ha demostrado que la vegetación sumergida proporciona mayor protección contra la depredación y también mayor cantidad de alimento para las diferentes especies de peces debido al gran número de invertebrados pequeños que alberga (Lubbers et al 1990, Heithaus 2004, Kopp et al 2007.…”

“…This is because these environments are structurally more complex (Wyda et al 2002, Gratwicke and Speight 2005, Kanouse et al 2006) and thus generate a greater diversity of habitat types and potential ecological niches. The vegetation also provides fish with protection from predators and a greater number and diversity of invertebrates on which juveniles and adults feed (Lubbers et al 1990, Hindell et al 2000, Guest et al 2003, Ribeiro et al 2006.…”

“…Aunque para las aguas mexicanas, Spatial, diel, and seasonal changes in the fish community structure of a Mexican tropical estuary Cambios espaciales, nictímeros y estacionales en la estructura de la comunidad de peces en un estuario tropical mexicano out on estuarine fish communities in Mexican waters, particularly the Gulf of Mexico, information on the spatial and temporal variability of the structure of these communities is still relatively scant (Castillo-Rivera et al 2002, 2003. Spatially, many studies have addressed the variability of fish communities in structurally complex environments, such as habitats with submerged vegetation (Lubbers et al 1990, Kanouse et al 2006, Ribeiro et al 2006. In general, submerged vegetation provides diverse fish species better protection against predation and also a greater amount of food due to the large number of small invertebrates that it shelters (Lubbers et al 1990, Heithaus 2004, Kopp et al 2007.…”

Habitat Quality and Salt-Marsh Species Assemblages along an Anthropogenic Estuarine Landscape

“…For instance, SAV beds are located along the eastern side of Barnegat Bay (Lathrop et al, 2001) and, therefore, are directly influenced by oxygen-rich ocean waters as compared with upper-marsh creeks, which occasionally have low dissolved oxygen concentrations (Sugihara et al, 1979). It is plausible that the observed variation in fish communities was related to subhabitat, given that fish use a variety of estuarine subhabitats (Kanouse, La Peyre, and Nyman, 2006), and some species use a particular subhabitat more frequently than other available subhabitats (Able and Figure 3. (a) Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) scatter plot of species distributed along the first two canonical axes.…”

Coastal Habitats of the Gulf of Mexico

“…Studies in southern GoM ecoregions reported only fishes but natant decapod crustaceans are important fisheries species in the region. References: (1) Arceo-Carranza and Vega-Cendejas (2009), (2) Burfeind and Stunz (2006), (3) Kanouse et al (2006), (4) King and Sheridan (2006), (5) La Peyre and Gordon (2012), (6) Livingston (1984), (7) Mairaro (2007), (8) Matheson et al (1999), (9) Peralta-Meixueiro and Vega-Cendejas (2011); (10) Reese et al (2008); (11) Rozas et al (2012), (12) Sheridan and Minello (2003), (13) Sheridan et al (1997), (14) Thayer et al (1987), (15) Rozas et al, 2012Mairaro, 2007Plunket, 2003Minello, 1999Sheridan and Minello, 2003 Red shaded cells indicate the presence of dominant families at each location. The most abundant species reported in each family are indicated by an "X"…”