Use of natural and created Spartina alterniflora salt marshes by fishery species and other aquatic fauna in Galveston Bay, Texas, USA

Minello, Thomas J.; Jw, Webb

doi:10.3354/meps151165

Cited by 133 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Zimmerman et al (1984) surveyed the distribution of Penaeus aztecus and found higher densities of prawns in the inner (landward) zone of the salt-marsh habitat. Minello & Webb (1997) found lower densities of P. aztecus and P. setiferus in artificially created marshes than in natural marshes but suggested that the differences might be because the artificial marshes were on higher ground and therefore were inundated for a shorter time. The prawn densities were higher in the natural, more frequently inundated salt marshes.…”

Section: Other Intertidal Habitatsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Distribution of juvenile penaeid prawns in mangrove forests in a tropical Australian estuary, with particular reference to Penaeus merguiensis

Vance

Haywood²,

Heales³

et al. 2002

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Several species of prawns, including juveniles of Penaeus merguiensis, will move into mangrove forests when the forests are inundated by flood tides. However, we do not know how extensively the prawns use the forests or whether some parts of the forests are more valuable to the prawns than others. We assessed the distribution of juvenile prawns in 3 different mangrove communities in intertidal forests adjacent to a small creek and a river in northern Australia between December 1993 and February 1995. The 3 mangrove communities were dominated, respectively, by the structurally complex Rhizophora stylosa, and the more open Ceriops tagal and Avicennia marina. We used stake nets (100 m long, 2 mm mesh) to sample discrete areas of the mangrove forests, and fyke nets (2 mm mesh) to sample prawns moving through the forests. The area of each stake net site ranged from 430 to 650 m 2 and the distance of the midpoint of each site inland from the creek or river mangrove fringe ranged from 13 to 225 m. A large size range of juvenile P. merguiensis (2 to 21 mm carapace length, CL) was caught in the mangroves and prawns were caught as far as 200 m into the forests. In the creek forest, there was no clear relationship between mangrove community type and prawn catches. The highest densities of P. merguiensis were recorded in the creek and were 28.1 and 27.6 prawns 100 m -2 in Rhizophora sp. and Ceriops sp. forest respectively. The highest mean catches were taken 59 m from the creek mangrove fringe. In contrast to the creek, in the river mangrove forest, there was a clear pattern of catches: the number of P. merguiensis caught decreased with distance into the mangroves and at shallower water depths. We have hypothesised that the distribution of juvenile P. merguiensis inside the mangroves depends largely on the local topography and pattern of water currents within each forest. Large numbers of unidentified Metapenaeus spp. and smaller numbers of M. ensis and P. monodon were also recorded from the samples inside the mangrove forests.

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Section: Other Intertidal Habitatsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Distribution of juvenile penaeid prawns in mangrove forests in a tropical Australian estuary, with particular reference to Penaeus merguiensis

Vance

Haywood²,

Heales³

et al. 2002

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…the edge effect) by comparing animal densities in Scirpus marsh and inner Spartina alterniflora marsh. Although others have examined the edge effect within S. alterniflora marsh (Peterson & Turner 1994, Minello et al 1994, Minello & Webb 1997, elevation and proximity to marsh edge were confounded in these studies. Elevation within a S. alterruflora marsh generally increases with distance from the shoreline.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small-scale patterns of nekton use among marsh and adjacent shallow nonvegetated areas of the Galveston Bay Estuary, Texas (USA)

Rozas¹,

Zimmerman²

2000

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

128

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We quantified and compared nekton and infauna1 densities among vegetated (edge Sparhna alterniflora, inner Spartina alterniflora, Scirpus maritimus, Juncus roemenanus, and Spartina patens marsh) and shallow nonvegetated (marsh pond, marsh channel, cove, and shallow bay) areas of upper Galveston Bay and East Bay, Texas. In 2 seasons (spnng and fall) of h g h nekton abundance, and over 2 yr, we collected 267 quantitative samples (upper Galveston Bay, 1993 = 127 and East Bay, 1994 = 140) using a 1 mZ drop sampler. The vegetated marsh surface consistently contained more species (i.e. higher species richness) and total numbers of decapod crustaceans than nonvegetated areas. In contrast, fish species richness and densities of total fishes on the marsh and in nonvegetated areas were not sigrdicantly different in most comparisons. Most numerically dominant species of nekton seemed to exhibit at least some degree of habitat selection. Within vegetation, 2 factors, elevation and proximity to open water, were most important in influencing the distribution of nekton. Low marsh edge dominated by Spartina alterniflora or Sciq~us maritirnus was apparently selected by most species that used the marsh surface including brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus, blue crab Callinectes sapidus, and daggerblade grass shrimp Palaemonetes puglo. White shrimp Litopenaeus setlferus and striped mullet Mugil cephalus also were concentrated in low edge marsh; although in one comparison, densities of these 2 species in edge and Inner S. alterniflora were not significantly Uferent In contrast, gulf killifish Fundulus grandis and sheepshead minnow Cyprinodon vanegatus were most abundant on inner S. alterniflora or S. patens marsh. Other fishes (gulf menhaden Brevoortia patronus, spot Leiostomus xanthurus, bay anchovy Anchoa mitchill~, blackcheek tonguefish Symphurusplagiusa, and Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus) had higher densities over nonvegetated bottoms than on the marsh surface. Specific habitat types that these pelagic species seemed to favor were marsh channels (gulf menhaden, bay anchovy), marsh ponds (spot), and coves (Atlantic croaker, blackcheek tonguefish). Overall, marsh-surface and adjacent nonvegetated habitat types contalned much higher densities of most nekton than the shallow bay. Infaunal densities were estimated from sedlment cores, and taxa (mainly annelids, crustaceans, molluscs, and insects) were most abundant in nonvegetated areas contiguous with marsh in the spring. Factors that influenced infaunal abundance are complex and may include predation, flooding patterns, elevation, and distance to edge. Our study has important implications for designing marsh-creation projects. Based on our results, we recommend creating a variety of marsh and contiguous shallow-water areas to enhance nekton biodiversity. To maximize fishery habitat, priority should be given to constructing low marsh edge by creating large areas of low marsh interspersed with a dense network of shall0.w channels and interconnected ponds.

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“…When ecosystems are driven through thresholds of undesirable states, losses can be long-lasting or even permanent (Scheffer, 2001;Hawkins et al, 2002). Our present ability to restore habitats is very much in question (Minello and Webb, 1997;Zedler, 2000), and opportunities for restoration can be extremely expensive or even impossible (Costanza et al, 1997). For example, many of the problems of erosion and flooding along European coastlines arise from the destruction of the natural features of the coast that act as sediment stores (e.g.…”

Section: What Is An Environmental Impact?mentioning

confidence: 99%

An ecological perspective on the deployment and design of low-crested and other hard coastal defence structures

Airoldi

Abbiati

Beck

et al. 2005

Coastal Engineering

344

166

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Coastal areas play a crucial role in the economical, social and political development of most countries; they support diverse and productive coastal ecosystems that provide valuable goods and services.Globally flooding and coastal erosion represent serious threats along many coastlines, and will become more serious as a consequence of human-induced changes and accelerated sea-level rise. Over the past indicate that the construction of coastal defence structures will affect coastal ecosystems. The consequences can be seen on a local scale, as disruption of surrounding soft-bottom environments and introduction of new artificial hard-bottom habitats, with consequent changes to the native assemblages of the areas. Proliferation of coastal defence structures can also have critical impacts on regional species diversity, removing isolating barriers, favouring the spread of non-native species and increasing habitat heterogeneity. Knowledge of the environmental context in which coastal defence structures are placed is fundamental to an effective management of these structures as, whilst there are some general consequences of such construction, many effects are site specific. Advice is provided to meet specific management goals, which include mitigating specific impacts on the environment, such as minimising changes to surrounding sediments, spread of exotic species or growth of nuisance species, and/or enhancing specific natural resources, for example enhancing fish recruitment or promoting diverse assemblages for ecoturism. The DELOS project points out that the downstream effects of defence structures on coastal processes and regional-scale impacts on biodiversity necessitate planning and management at a regional (large coastline) scale. To effectively understand and manage coastal defences, environmental management goals must be clearly stated and incorporated into the planning, construction, and monitoring stages.

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Use of natural and created Spartina alterniflora salt marshes by fishery species and other aquatic fauna in Galveston Bay, Texas, USA

Cited by 133 publications

References 40 publications

Distribution of juvenile penaeid prawns in mangrove forests in a tropical Australian estuary, with particular reference to Penaeus merguiensis

Distribution of juvenile penaeid prawns in mangrove forests in a tropical Australian estuary, with particular reference to Penaeus merguiensis

Small-scale patterns of nekton use among marsh and adjacent shallow nonvegetated areas of the Galveston Bay Estuary, Texas (USA)

An ecological perspective on the deployment and design of low-crested and other hard coastal defence structures

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