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1.
The Atlantic menhaden,Brevoortia tyrannus, is an abundant plankton-feeding fish that undertakes extensive seasonal migrations, moving from overwintering locations offshore south of Cape Hatteras to the mid-Atlantic Bight and New England inshore waters during spring and summer. A bioenergetic model, based on field and laboratory studies, shows that when large numbers of menhaden enter Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, during spring and early summer, they significantly influence plankton populations through size-selective grazing and nutrient regeneration. A population biomass of 9.1×106 kg of menhaden feeding for 12 h each day in the upper bay would result, in a substantial reduction of the instantaneous growth rate of the >20-μm phytoplankton. Instantaneous growth rates of zooplankton would be negative if the same population of menhaden was present, resulting in a reduction in the biomass of zooplankton. Given the ambient phytoplankton and zooplankton populations, menhaden could achieve the seasonal growth measured in Narragansett Bay during 1976 by feeding on average about 5 h d?1. Daily nitrogen excretion rates of the 9.1×106 kg menhaden population were 56.4% of the mean standing stock of ammonia-N in the upper bay. Because menhaden travel in schools their effects are likely to be intense but strongly localized, increasing spatial heterogeneity in the ecosystem. When the fish migrate southward in the fall they transfer between 3.3% and 6.2% of the nitrogen exported annually from the bay.  相似文献   

2.
The emigration of juvenile Atlantic menhaden,Brevoortia tyrannus (Latrobe), from the York River Estuary, Virginia, was studied during the years 1981 and 1982. Concurrent observations of menhaden catch, water temperature, and phytoplankton abundance suggested that the migration began in response to environmental events in the estuary. Juvenile menhaden appeared to begin their migration five days after the sustained onset of water temperatures below 24 °C. The temperature change was hypothesized as the proximate factor that initiates the migration. Coincident with the migrations, phytoplankton communities in the estuary bloomed, suggesting that the ultimate factor that initiates the migration may be the occurrence of sufficient food for the emigrating menhaden as they moved down and out of the estuary. Migration timing may have evolved as a mechanism to enhance the survival of migrating juvenile menhaden during a period of physiologic stress.  相似文献   

3.
We examined the diets of Gulf killifish,Fundulus grandis Baird and Girard, collected monthly from March through July 1988 with unbaited minnow traps during two sampling periods: (1) on flood tides before they reached the marsh surface, and (2) on ebb tides as they left the marsh. Thirty-five prey taxa, plant parts, and detritus were identified from the stomach contents of 110 Gulf killifish (mean SL = 55 mm, range = 30?82 mm). Fiddler crabs,Uca longisignalis Salmon and Atsaides; amphipods, mostlyCorophium louisianum Shoemaker; tanaidaceans,Hargeria rapax (Harger); and hydrobiids,Littoridinops palustris Thompson, were their most important prey. Killifish diets differed both quantitatively and qualitatively relative to the habitat in which they were feeding. Fiddler crabs and polychaetes were consumed more frequently and in greater numbers in the intertidal zone, whereas more amphipods were eaten by killifish feeding in subtidal and low intertidal areas. Gulf killifish consumed a greater volume of food when they had access to the marsh surface than when they were confined to subtidal areas.  相似文献   

4.
Microbial contributions to the detritus of two vascular plant tissues, smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) and black mangrove leaves (Avicennia germinans), were estimated over a 4-year decomposition period under subaqueous marine conditions. During this period, 93-97% of the initial plant tissues was decomposed. Bulk elemental and isotopic compositions of the detritus were measured along with hydrolyzable amino sugars (AS) and amino acids (AA), including the bacterial biomarkers muramic acid and the d-enantiomers of AA. A major enrichment in N relative to C occurred during decomposition. Net increases of AS, AA, and bacterial biomarkers in decaying detritus were observed. Three independent approaches indicated that on average 60-75% of the N and 20-40% of the C in highly decomposed detritus were not from the original plant tissues but were mostly from heterotrophic bacteria. During decomposition hydrolyzable AS + AA yields (∼54% of total N) were strongly correlated with total N in both types of detritus. The uncharacterized N appeared to have the same origin and dynamics as AA, suggesting the contribution of other bacterial biomolecules not measured here. There was little indication of humification or abiotic processes. Instead, N-immobilization appeared primarily bacterially mediated. Although varying dynamics were observed among individual molecules, bacterial detritus exhibited an average reactivity similar to plant detritus. Only a minor fraction of the bacterial detritus escaped rapid biodegradation and the relationship between bacterial activity and N-immobilization is consistent with an enzymatically mediated preservation mechanism. Bacteria and their remains are ubiquitous in all ecosystems and thus could comprise a major fraction of the preserved and uncharacterized organic matter in the environment.  相似文献   

5.
A hypothesis on the formation and seasonal evolution of Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) juvenile nurseries in coastal estuaries is described. A series of cruises were undertaken to capture postmetamorphic juvenile menhaden and to characterize several biological and physical parameters along estuarine gradients. The two study systems, the Neuse and Pamlico rivers in North Carolina, contain important menhaden nursery grounds. Juvenile menhaden abundance was found to be associated with gradients of phytoplankton biomass as evidenced by chlorophylla levels in the upper water column. Fish abundances were only secondarily associated with salinity gradients as salinity was a factor that moderated primary production in the estuary. The persistence of spatial and temporal trends in the distribution of phytoplankton in the Neuse and Pamlico estuaries was reviewed. The review suggested that postmetamorphic juvenile menhaden modify their distribution patterns to match those created by phytoplankton biomass, which in turn makes them most abundant in the phytoplankton maxima of estuaries. Because the location of these maxima varies with the mixing and nutrient dynamics of different estuaries, so will the location of the nursery.  相似文献   

6.
The sterol contents of plankton and sediment samples have been determined. Cholesterol, 22-dehydrocholesterol, brassicasterol, campesterol, 24-methylenecholesterol, stigmasterol, and β-sitosterol are the major sterols in these samples. Systematic variations have been observed in the compositions of the sterols from bay and Gulf of Mexico plankton and from sediments collected in the mouth of the Aransas River, Capano Bay, Aransas Bay, Corpus Christi Bay and the Gulf near Port Aransas. The concentration of cholesterol increases as the concentration of β-sitosterol decreases in the sample sequence of river inlet sediments-bay sediments-Gulf sediments-bay and Gulf plankton. Calculations based on either the cholesterol or the β-sitosterol contents of the sterol fractions of the fresh water sediments and the Gulf plankton and sediments suggest that 34% of the sterols in the Gulf sediments are derived from terrigenous sources.  相似文献   

7.
This is the first report of juvenile (age 0+) Atlantic menhadens, Brevoortia tyrannus, in the Annapolis River, Nova Scotia. Juvenile Atlantic menhaden were incidentally collected during a 3-yr study of the effects of the STRAFLO hydro-power turbine at Annapolis Royal on alosine fishes. Length distribution and time of capture of collected fish suggest that Atlantic menhaden may spawn in the Bay of Fundy.  相似文献   

8.
Over 968,000 adult Atlantic menhaden,Brevoortia tyrannus, were tagged from 1967 to 1969 and over 85,000 juvenile menhaden were tagged from 1969 to 1973. Recoveries of these tagged fish through 1975 provide direct evidence that Atlantic menhaden consist of a single population that over-winters in offshore waters off the southeastern coast of the United States, moves northward in spring and stratifies along the coast by age and size during summer, and moves southward in late autumn.  相似文献   

9.
The Winter Gulf site near North Collins, New York is a 0.8-m sequence of organic detritus dated at approximately 12,700 yr B.P. A 260-kg sample produced over 500 identified individuals representing five orders of insects. Three insect zones were recognized, the lowest representing an open mire with sparse numbers of carices and other sedges; aquatic beetles were rare, and no trees were in the vicinity of the sample site. The middle zone indicated an extensive marsh or moist meadow environment with spruce nearby. The upper zone represented a mixed riparian and spruce forest insect assemblage.The results of the Winter Gulf insect analyses support published hypotheses that the site was probably a protected embayment of early lake Warren. Although the flora at the site has been previously interpreted as representing parkland tundra, temperature analyses of the fauna indicate that the thermal conditions were much warmer than parkland tundra regions of North America today. These results have important significance for the region immediately south of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during this period of the Late Wisconsinan.  相似文献   

10.
A spatially-explicit methodology was developed for estimating system carrying capacities of fish stocks, and used to estimate the seasonal and spatial patterns of carrying capacity of Chesapeake Bay for Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus). We used a spatially-explicit three-dimensional (3-D) model that divided the heterogeneous habitat of Chesapeake Bay into over 4,000 cubes. Each cube represented a volume of water that was characterized by a specific set of environmental variables (phytoplankton biomass, temperature, and dissolved oxygen) driven by the 3-D water quality model. Foraging and bioenergetics models transformed the environmental variables into measures of potential growth rates of menhaden. Potential carrying capacity of menhaden was estimated as a function of phytoplankton production, menhaden consumption rate, and potential growth rate, combining phytoplankton production, thermal habitat, and menhaden physiology into one ecological value that is a measure of habitat quality from the perspective of the fish. Seasonal analysis of the Chesapeake Bay carrying capacity for Atlantic menhaden suggested two bottleneck periods: one in early June and a second during the fall. The bottleneck in carrying capacity was at about 10 billion age-0 fish. Annual recruitment of age-0 menhaden for the entire Atlantic coast of the U.S. ranged from 1.2–18.6 billion fish between 1955 and 1986. It appears that carrying capacity of, Chesapeake Bay does not limit the coastwide production of young menhaden. Any conditions such as nutrient reduction strategies, further eutrophication, or global climatic warming, that may influence the carrying capacity during the fall or early June periods, may ultimately alter coastwide abundance of menhaden through changes in Chesapeake Bay carrying capacity.  相似文献   

11.
Plants and animals in brackish marshes are adapted to live within a wide, yet finite, range of conditions. Events that shift the environmental state beyond that range can dramatically alter habitats and, potentially, the numerous ecosystem services they provide. A prolonged exceptional drought in Texas (October 2010–January 2012) provided a unique opportunity to understand how brackish wetland habitats respond to an extreme environmental event. We examined marshes in the Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area (Texas, USA) that fell within the drought affected area, including restored areas and an adjacent reference marsh. To test our hypothesis that the brackish marsh community would be sensitive to drought conditions, we quantified emergent plant and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) and animal (invertebrates, fish) characteristics in summer 2010 and 2011. In spite of its severity, the exceptional drought of 2011 did not have a negative impact on emergent plant communities: biomass, stem density, and chlorophyll a concentrations were the same in pre-drought and drought years in all restored and reference areas. In contrast, SAV biomass was reduced by up to 100 % in the drought year. Some fish and invertebrate densities were also reduced by an order of magnitude or more, possibly due to the loss of SAV. Aquatic faunal species composition was markedly different in the drought year, largely due to the loss of the hydrobiid snail Probythinella protera and the gain of some marine species, including Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus), brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus), and white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus). By altering aquatic the plant and animal community, this drought event may subsequently reduce trophic support for higher consumers, or contribute to a decline in water quality. Restoration monitoring programs that only focus on relatively stress-resistant, emergent wetland plant communities may underestimate the sensitivity of these ecosystems to extreme environmental events like droughts.  相似文献   

12.
Larval fishes were sampled weekly from late fall to early spring in the Newport River estuary just inside Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. Quantitative samples were taken during darkness at mid-flood tide with paired 60-cm bongo nets (505-μm mesh). Larvae of 22 species from 15 families were collected. Seventy-seven percent of the species and 97% of the individuals were fishes that had been spawned on the continental shelf and had immigrated to the estuary. In descending order, the five most abundant species, accounting for 90% of the individuals, were spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides), and speckled worm ell (Myrophis punctatus). Most species immigrated through-out the winter and into spring, but there were distinct patterns in their temporal abundances.  相似文献   

13.
A small purse seine, 250 ft. long and 23 ft. deep, and two 14 ft. purse boats to fish it in shallow estuaries for menhaden (Brevoortia) are described. The seine is made of No. 6 nylon in the two wings and heavier No. 15 nylon in the center bunt. Mesh is 1 3/8 in. bar. Purse boats have a 7 ft. beam and 2 ft. of freeboard, and are built of 1/4 in. marine plywood and seasoned oak ribs. A 40 hp outboard motor mounted in a center well powers each boat. Boats and seine are portable (on trailers) and can be used any place where launching sites are available. Over 40,000 menhaden were caught and marked with internal ferro-magnetic tags over a 3-year period. Boats and seine also could be used to capture other schooling species.  相似文献   

14.
All of the major deep-water sedimentary provinces of the Gulf of Mexico were sampled with 48 piston cores, representative of the late Quaternary. The amount (per cent) and δ5C13 of the organic carbon in the sediment was measured at intervals within each core.Graphs of δC13 versus depth for each core give an indication of the sedimentological history of the Gulf. They show the extent of terrestrial influence on the Gulf during the late Pleistocene.Changes in δC13 of up to 6.0%.(from ~ ?19%.to ?25%. vs NBS-20) were measured across the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary in cores from the abyssal plain. These changes are consistent with a model wherein varying amounts of land-derived organic carbon were transported to the Gulf basin during glacial periods.By comparing graphs for cores from different areas, it was concluded that the major parameter affecting the δC13 values of organic carbon from marine sediments is the relative amount of terrestrial material present in the sediment. The maximum possible effect of the Pleistocene-Holocene temperature change in the Gulf was determined to be ~1.0%, if such an effect occurs at all.  相似文献   

15.
Synoptic ichthyoplankton sampling was conducted on two transects, one on either side of Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, during the winter immigration season of seven ocean-spawned, estuarine-dependent fishes;Brevoortia tyrannus (Atlantic menhaden),Leiostomus xanthurus (spot),Micropogonias undulatus (Atlantic croaker),Lagodon rhomboides (pinfish),Paralichthys albigutta (Gulf flounder),P. dentatus (summer flounder), andP. lethostigma (southern flounder). Densities and lengths of larvae were significantly different among sampling dates, with distance offshore, and between sides of the inlet. Flood-tide stage had minimal effect on larval densities and lengths except forP. albigutta andP. lethostigma. Changes in larval densities with distance offshore were not coherent among species; densities ofB. tyrammus increased offshore whereas densities of the other species decreased offshore. Average larval densities on a sampling date were coherent among species. Patterns in larval lengths were also coherent among the four non-flounder species. Larval densities outside of Beaufort Inlet were correlated with larval densities inside of Beaufort Inlet. Larval densities outside of Beaufort Inlet were also correlated with the north component of the wind, nearshore water temperature, and distance to the mid-shelf front. Differences in larval density across the inlet were significantly correlated with the east component of the wind. The patterns in larval densities outside of Beaufort Inlet were complex and apparently influenced by both the physical processes that supply larvae to the nearshore region and nearshore physical dynamics.  相似文献   

16.
The Gulf Killifish (Fundulus grandis) is one of the most abundant nekton species in the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM) salt marshes, providing an important trophic link in these systems. Recently, the use of F. grandis as an indicator species of salt marsh health in the region has been suggested because its Atlantic coast congener, the Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) has filled such a role due to its demonstrated high site fidelity and small-scale movements. Given the similar life histories between species, F. grandis was assumed to exhibit the same type of small-scale movements, although this has not been documented. During summer 2013, we collected and marked 1,719 fish from a northern Gulf of Mexico estuary, recapturing 959 (56 % recapture rate). Of these recaptured fish, only 31 moved from their original tagging location, and of these, 29 moved only 100 m between sites connected by salt marsh. Based on these results, F. grandis appears to exhibit high site fidelity and make only small-scale movements, similar to F. heteroclitus, supporting its role as an indicator species.  相似文献   

17.
A thin phosphate-granule conglomerate within the Upper Cretaceous (middle Campanian) Rattlesnake Mountain sandstone member of the Aguja Formation preserves a diverse chondrichthyan and osteichthyan fauna. This highly fossiliferous deposit (the ‘Ten Bits Microsite’) yielded about 5000 teeth, spines, and denticles in a small amount of matrix (c. 150 kg). About 30 identifiable species of sharks, rays, and bony fishes are recognized. Two of the three most abundant chondrichthyan species at Ten Bits (Scapanorhynchus texanus and Ischyrhiza mira) are also the most common species in other middle to late Campanian marine vertebrate faunas along the Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain. The myliobatiform rays Brachyrhizodus and Rhombodus that occur at Ten Bits also appear to be characteristic of the Gulf and Atlantic Coast, as are lamniform sharks such as Cretalamna and Serratolamna. These taxa are entirely absent or extremely rare in Western Interior Campanian faunas. In contrast, some small orectolobiform sharks (Cantioscyllium, Chiloscyllium, Columbusia) and small rays (Protoplatyrhina) found at Ten Bits are common in shallow water faunas of the Western Interior and Texas Coastal Plain, but rarely reported from the eastern Gulf or Atlantic Coast. The common Western Interior ray Myledaphus bipartitus does not occur at Ten Bits or in any Gulf or Atlantic Coast fauna. Ptychotrygon agujaensis is abundantly represented in the Ten Bits fauna, but unknown in correlative marine faunas. Although Ptychotrygon occurs in all Western Interior, Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain faunas, it is represented elsewhere by apparently endemic species at each collection site. The differences between Western Interior, Gulf, and Atlantic Coastal Plain faunas probably reflect latitudinal variation in water temperature or salinity, or different oceanic water circulation patterns between the Western Interior Seaway and the Gulf or Atlantic Coast that restricted the distributions of some marine fish species. The Ten Bits fauna shares typical species with both Western Interior and Gulf and Atlantic Coast faunas, reflecting its position at the border between these provinces; however, the dominant taxa found at Ten Bits are the same as those found on the Gulf and Atlantic Coast, and indicate that western Texas was more closely allied biogeographically with that province than with the Western Interior of North America. One species tentatively identified in the Ten Bits fauna on the basis of a single tooth, Igdabatis cf. I. indicus, is otherwise known only from southern Europe and Asia, although a similar large myliobatid ray also occurs rarely in Texas Coastal Plain faunas. These occurrences indicate that western Texas may have been near the northern limit of the range for some tropical Tethyan marine vertebrate species.  相似文献   

18.
Maryland’s coastal bays provide habitat for juveniles of many commercially and recreationally important species of shellfish and finfish. Since 1972, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources has conducted the Maryland Coastal Bays Trawl and Seine Survey to monitor the populations of key species. The survey has undergone substantial spatial and methodological changes affecting the interpretation of simple indices of abundance. We developed generalized linear models to standardize the indices of abundance of five commonly caught fish species: Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus, weakfish Cynoscion regalis, spot Leiostomus xanthurus, bay anchovy Anchoa mitchilli, and summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus. Density declined significantly since 1972 for menhaden, bay anchovy, and spot in at least one region within the coastal bays. The northern bays had significantly higher densities than the southern bays for all species. Changes in abundance indices of the five species examined were not related to sea grass coverage, temperature, salinity, nitrogen-to-phosphorus ratios, and other habitat variables but were likely a result of stock-wide recruitment processes.  相似文献   

19.
To assess possible impacts on Lake Pontchartrain fishes from the 2005 hurricanes, we compared trawl, beach seine, and gillnet collections taken before (2000–2003, 2005) and after (2006–2009) to determine if significant assemblage changes occurred. We also compared basic environmental variables to test for hurricane-related changes. Significant post-hurricane changes in fish assemblages occurred in trawl (analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), R?<?0.090, p?<?0.05) and beach seine (ANOSIM, R?<?0.120, p?<?0.05) collections across all seasons. Gillnet assemblages exhibited changes in only one season (ANOSIM, R?=?0.045, p?<?0.05). These consistently low global R values (all R?<?0.120) across all gears suggest only minor compositional changes in species. When peak abundance periods were compared for individual species, Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) declined in trawl collections after the hurricanes (Friedman's test, χ 2?=?6.00, p?=?0.014) but increased in gillnet collections (Friedman's test, χ 2?=?5.00, p?=?0.025). Hardhead catfish (Ariopsis felis) increased in trawl collections, but Gulf pipefish (Syngnathus scovelli), naked gobies (Gobiosoma bosc), and rough silverside (Membras martinica) all declined in beach seine samples and Atlantic croakers (Micropogonias undulatus), Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus), and sand seatrout (Cynoscion arenarius) all declined in gillnet samples. In general, salinity increased and water clarity and dissolved oxygen decreased after the hurricanes. While the overall composition of Lake Pontchartrain fish assemblages remains stable, the significant decline of some species and changes in certain environmental variables are cause for concern. Future monitoring should determine if all elements of this estuary will recover from these impacts.  相似文献   

20.
Seismicity of Sinai Peninsula, Egypt   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  
The Sinai Peninsula has a triangular shape between the African and Arabian Plates and is bounded from the western and eastern borders by the Gulf of Suez and Gulf of Aqaba–Dead Sea rift systems, respectively. It is affected by strong and destructive earthquakes (e.g., March 31, 1969 and November 22, 1995) and moderate earthquakes (m b?>?5) throughout its history. After the installation of the Egyptian National Seismic Network (ENSN), a great number of earthquakes has been recorded within and around Sinai. Consequently, the seismogenic source zones and seismotectonic behavior can be clearly identified. Available data, including both historical and instrumental (1900–1997), have been collected from national and international data centers. While the data from 1998 till December 2007 are gathered from ENSN bulletins. The seismogenic source zones that might affect Sinai Peninsula are defined more precisely in this work depending on the distribution of earthquakes, seismicity rate (a value), b value, and fault plane solution of the major earthquakes. In addition, the type of faults prevailed and characterized these zones. It is concluded that the Gulf of Aqaba zone–Dead Sea transform zone, Gulf of Suez rift zone, Cairo–Suez District zone, and Eastern Mediterranean dislocation zone represent the major effective zones for Sinai. Furthermore, there are two local seismic zones passing through Sinai contributing to the earthquake activities of Sinai, these are the Negev shear zone and Central Sinai fault (Themed fault) zone. The source parameters, a and b values, and the maximum expected moment magnitude have been determined for each of these zones. These results will contribute to a great extent in the seismic hazard assessment and risk mitigation studies for Sinai Peninsula to protect the developmental projects.  相似文献   

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