Quantifying Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) Dependence on Saltmarsh-Derived Productivity Using Stable Isotope Analysis

Abstract

Each winter, populations of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) migrate north from the coastal mid-Atlantic region of the US to the coastal waters of New England. During this migration, striped bass spend significant time in estuaries and saltmarshes, presumably to forage. However, the extent to which saltmarsh productivity supports striped bass remains unresolved. We used a three-isotope Bayesian mixing model to determine the relative contribution of three primary producers [C4 saltmarsh cordgrass (Spartina spp.), phytoplankton, and benthic diatoms] to striped bass tissue. Phytoplankton (51 % contribution) and Spartina-derived sources (44 % contribution) are the primary sources of production to striped bass, while benthic diatoms made a relatively small contribution (5 %). Our results highlight the importance of saltmarshes to striped bass by showing that primary producers unique to saltmarsh ecosystems support a large proportion of striped bass production.

Lessons from the past: isotopes of an endangered rail as indicators of underlying change to tidal marsh habitats

“…However, none of the individual or regional (Table 1b, Fry 2008). This indicated a lack of historical or modern terrestrial/freshwater foraging among the rails sampled (Bishop, Drewes, and Vredenburg 2014;Baker, Nelson, and Leslie 2016), although results were limited to the time of feather growth (Kwak and Zedler 1997;Pyle 2008;Blomberg et al 2013).…”

“…Due to the overlapping 13 C for individual and regional rail feathers, we considered the 34 S for all individual and regional feathers, as suggested in tidal marsh food web literature (Peterson and Fry 1987;Kwak and Zedler 1997;Baker, Nelson, and Leslie 2016). We found enriched, marine/tidal values of 34 S in all historical and modern rail feathers with the exception of feathers from the modern West.…”

Climate Change Implications for Tidal Marshes and Food Web Linkages to Estuarine and Coastal Nekton

“…For example, marine transient primary and intermediate consumers [e.g., juvenile shrimp (Penaeidae) and pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides), respectively] accumulate marsh production while feeding on the marsh surface or in channels before recruiting to estuarine or coastal waters where they are subsequently consumed (Fry et al 2003). These production transfers or "trophic relays" also occur when larger marine transient predators [e.g., striped bass (Morone saxatilis), white perch (Morone americana)] make "feeding forays" into marshes to consume both resident [e.g., mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus)] and transient prey (Tupper and Able 2000;Baker et al 2016). We use this framework (Kneib 2000) to illustrate how trophic relays, the primary mechanism of energy transport from tidal marshes to estuarine and coastal ecosystems, may be fundamentally altered by climate change.…”

Trade-offs between multiple ecosystem services in UK and US salt marshes

“…Consistent with the results from the global meta-analysis (Chapter 2), both the experimental and observational studies exhibited reduced plant biomass (stem height, percentage cover) with grazing. Reduced biomass may have consequences for ES, such as shoreline stability due to reduced accretion (Turner et al 2002;Mudd et al 2010;Shepard et al 2011); storm protection due to reduced wave attenuation (Shepard et al 2011;Möller et al 2014;Heuner et al 2015); fisheries support due to less detrital biomass entering the marine food chain (Bell 1997;MacKenzie and Dionne 2008;Baker et al 2016); and reduced diversity and abundance of enigmatic wild species such as Clapper Rails (Rallus crepitans) and Marsh Wrens (Cistothorus palustris) which need long vegetation for nesting (Sherr 2015;Valdes et al 2016), and manatees (Trichechus manatus) that feed in Spartina (Baugh et al 1989).…”

“…These horses preferentially graze on saltmarsh vegetation, particularly Spartina alterniflora (Stevens 1986;Hay and Wells 1991;Furbish and Albano 1994) and a number of studies have suggested that feral horses are causing damage to the natural environment, and recommended the horse populations be reduced Turner 1988;Hay and Wells 1991) or removed altogether (Dolan 2002;Taggart 2008). The east coast barrier islands provide shelter to the mainland from storms (Feagin et al 2010), support commercially important fish (Layman 2000;National Park Service 2014;Baker et al 2016), and provide important habitat for birds and sea turtles (Erwin et al 2003;National Park Service 2014). As protected areas, management bodies have a duty to preserve their natural ecosystems and native species, and assess non-native species for their potential for harm (National Park Service 1991).…”