Interactions of Salinity,Marsh Fragmentation and Submerged Aquatic Vegetation on Resident Nekton Assemblages of Coastal Marsh Ponds |
| |
| Authors: | Alan T Hitch Kevin M Purcell Shannon B Martin Paul L Klerks Paul L Leberg |
| |
| Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 70504-2451, USA;(2) Department of Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108, USA;(3) Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Eastpoint, FL 32328, USA;(4) Present address: Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, University of California at Davis, 1 Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA |
| |
| Abstract: | Increases in relative sea level are fragmenting the emergent vegetation of Louisiana’s coastal marshes. Nekton abundance is
likely impacted by salinity and whether emergent vegetation is replaced by submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) or open water.
To assess these effects, we sampled nekton densities along a salinity gradient (categorized as freshwater, intermediate, and
brackish marsh) in fragmented and non-fragmented areas. Total nekton density increased strongly with SAV in brackish marsh
but only weakly in freshwater marsh (F
2,238 = 10.03, p < 0.0001). Freshwater and intermediate marshes had higher nekton densities when fragmented than when non-fragmented; this
relationship was reversed in brackish marsh (F
2,238 = 8.89, p = 0.0002). Fragmentation, SAV, and salinity interacted to affect the densities of Gambusia affinis, Poecilia latipinna, Cyprinodon variegates, and Lucania parva. Our results suggest that the presence of both emergent vegetation and SAV was necessary for maintaining high nekton densities,
with this combination being especially important in brackish marshes. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
