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1.
Patterns in seasonal abundance (no. per m2 surface area), growth and biomass (g per m2 surface area) of an annual fish, the Atlantic silverside, Menidia menidia (L.) were investigated in a marsh and more seaward bay region of Essex Bay, Massachusetts from August 1976 to May 1978 using a quantitative beach seining technique. Silverside abundance varied greatly by season and year class during the study period. Abundance was high in 1976 but winter mortality (99%) left an adult density of only .01 per m2 surface area in the marsh during spring 1977. Resultant 1977 year class density in the marsh was 1.88 per m2 by late fall 1977 but winter mortality again produced an adult density of .01 per m2 in spring 1978. Abundance was generally higher in the marsh than in the bay region especially during spring and late fall when catches in the bay were negligible. Based on catch rate comparisons, the summer and fall juvenile abundance of the 1976 year class was much higher than the juvenile abundance of the 1977 year class. Coincidentally, mean lengths and condition of the abundant 1976 year class in the late fall were significantly lower than those of the 1977 year class, suggesting density dependent population regulation. In both years, juveniles grew rapidly and reached full adult size by November when an offshore movement to deeper waters outside Essex Bay occurred. Biomass peaked in the marsh region in late fall 1977 at 7.8 g per m2 wet weight. Winter mortality was size selective, favoring larger individuals. The annual life history design of M. menidia including an offshore winter movement and high winter mortality suggests that silversides represent an important pathway of energy flow from marsh to offshore trophic systems. 相似文献
2.
Soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria) can serve important ecological roles in intertidal mudflats and are an important economic and recreational resource in the northwestern Atlantic. However, environmental factors affecting newly-settled and juvenile clam abundances within a given settlement season remain uncertain. We conducted a field study assessing relationships between juvenile soft-shell clam abundance and spatial, temporal, and environmental variables in coastal mudflats of the northern shore of the Bay of Fundy. Sediment pH and low-tide water temperature (tide pools) were monitored in situ on a biweekly–monthly basis over the course of the M. arenaria settlement season in 2012 at four study sites to quantify diel variation in sediment pH and temperature. Core samples were also collected to quantify M. arenaria (<6 mm) abundance. Sea-surface and air temperature, and in situ sediment pH and water temperature were then used to predict clam abundance. Sediment pH was spatially and temporally variable, while in situ temperature was stable and declined over the sampling season. Akaike’s information criterion model selection indicated that models incorporating site, date, and air temperature best predicted 2012 recruitment patterns in linear models when all variables were included. When only environmental variables were included, the best linear model included minimum air temperature and sediment pH. When data were averaged across dates for each site to remove potential temporal effects, mean clam abundance displayed a significant positive relationship with sediment pH and sediment grain size, but not minimum air temperature. The results of this study suggest that sediment pH and/or sediment grain size may influence within-season juvenile soft-shell clam abundances across mudflats in the Bay of Fundy. Field experiments at the same (or similar) sites are now needed to confirm the mechanism driving the observed relationships. 相似文献
3.
Chu-Fa Tsai Justine Welch Kwei-Yang Chang John Shaeffer L. Eugene Cronin 《Estuaries and Coasts》1979,2(3):141-153
Baltimore Harbor, a tributary area of the northern Chesapeake Bay, has recelved and is receiving large quantities of chemical pollutants. As part of a cooperative study to explore possible corrective treatment for existing pollution burdens, gross bioassay analyses were performed for sediments from nine representative stations, employing two species of fish, mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus) and spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), and one mollusc, the soft-shell clam (Mya arenaria). Acclimated organisms were exposed in static systems to a series of concentrations of suspended sediment from each station, to fuller's earth in suspension, and in control tanks for 48 hours. Parallel analysis of the sediment was performed for the metals, Pb, Cr, Zn, Ca, As, for PCB's and for hexane extracts. The sediments were all substantially polluted with low correlations among components. Twenty-four hour TLm and 48-hour TLm increased proportionately with sediment concentration but display species specificity. The relationships observed permit use of mummichog data to index gross toxicity of sediments throughout the harbor. Further comparison of mummichog 24-hour TLm value with benthie species diversity determined in a previous study permitted zoning of the entire harbor into highly toxic, moderately toxic, low toxic and slightly toxic zones. Gross toxicity of sediments determined by bioassay can therefore be used as an index of the suitability of the sediments for benthic macroinvertebrate communities. 相似文献
4.
To examine the roles of settlement and early postsettlement processes in the recruitment of the soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria, abundance of recent settlers and juveniles was monitored over two field seasons at four locations on the northern shore
of the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada. Results showed great spatial and temporal variability in patterns of settlement.
M. arenaria appeared to become highly vulnerable to postsettlement processes at a shell length of approximately 2 mm. Postsettlement
processes drastically altered patterns of settlement less than 1 year after they were established. Results suggest that local
factors at specific sites within the Bay of Fundy, such as hydrodynamics, larval behavior, and early postsettlement events,
likely control the abundance of juvenile clams. Additionally, postsettlement events are extremely important in shaping M. arenaria populations in this area. Very few mature adult clams greater than 50 mm in shell length were found at any sampling sites,
and no relationship was found between abundance of setters and density of juveniles and adults. 相似文献
5.
Raymond P. Morgan Suzanne B. Block Nancy I. Ulanowicz Cunera Buys 《Estuaries and Coasts》1978,1(4):255-258
Genetic variability for two popula-tions, Maine and Maryland, of the soft-shelled clam,Mya arenaria, was estimated from electrophoretic anal-yses of whole clams. Polymorphism (12.5% in Maine and 16.7% in Maryland clams) and heterozygosity per individ-ual (4.6% in Maine and 6.6% in Maryland) were low for the two populations based on 40 loci in Maine and 42 loci in MarylandMya. 相似文献
6.
The Asiatic clam,Corbicula fluminea (Müller), has extended its range to include the tidal fresh-water portion of the Potomac River, Maryland. Though patchily distributed, the clams have attained densities of 665 m?2. Size-class distributions indicate that the clams first appeared in 1975. About 90% of the population belong to year-class I and were less than 12 mm in length. Elsewhere, this species has created severe water quality problems; it should be closely watched in the Potomac. 相似文献
7.
Average summer densities of the xanthid crab,Eurytium limosum, in an intertidal salt marsh on Sapelo Island, Georgia were in the range of 7.5 to 80.0 individuals m?2. Crab densities were lowest in wet, lowlying marsh and highest in well-drained creekbank and mussel mound habitats. An analysis of crab stomach contents indicated that feeding occurred mostly around high tide, especially at night. Although the diet included some plant material,Eurytium limosum is primarily predatory and consumed crabs, polychaetes, ostracods, bivalves, and snails. In the laboratory, under simulated low-tide field conditions, both small (11–15 mm carapace width) and large (20–37 mm CW)Eurytium could capture and consume young killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus). Large crabs consumed the entire size range (7–19 mm total length) of larval/juvenile fish offered, but small crabs did not prey upon fish >11.5 mm TL. The potential importance ofE. limosum as a predator on young killifish may not be realized in the field because alternative prey are available and the crabs feed primarily at high tide, when young killifish are dispersed in the water column and are less vulnerable to benthic predators. 相似文献
8.
Predation byPanopeus herbstii onMercenaria mercenaria was significantly affected by temperature, and the size of predators and prey items. LargerP. herbstii opened more clams and preyed more successfully on larger clams than did smaller crabs. Increase in seed clam size and decrease in water temperature significantly reduced predation. Clam size appeared to be more important than crab satiation in reducing predation rate. Planting larger seed clams in cooler months should help to improve clam survival by reducing the impact ofP. herbstii in culture operations. 相似文献
9.
It is often presumed that salt marshes provide a predation refuge for small fishes, but predation risks have rarely been compared in intertidal and subtidal habitats, making the importance of salt marshes as a predation refuge speculative. We measured relative survival of tethered mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) in four habitats in a salt marsh?Ctidal creek system: unvegetated and vegetated intertidal areas and the subtidal creek at high and low tide. At high tide, mummichog in the intertidal zone had significantly higher survival than in the subtidal creek in June through August. Survival rates in unvegetated and vegetated intertidal habitats were not significantly different, suggesting that higher intertidal survival was due to less abundant predators compared with the creek, rather than predators being less effective in vegetation. The lower predation risk experienced by mummichog in the intertidal marsh suggests that access to intertidal habitats will be important for production of small estuarine fishes. 相似文献
10.
The abundance of the marsh clamPolymesoda caroliniana at four stations on a Mississippi tidal marsh was followed from February 1977 through April 1978. The stations varied with respect to inundation time and vegetative cover. The largest population was found in an area flooded 12% of the year (136 individuals per m2) and in an area flooded 3.2% of the year (126 individuals per m2). However, the latter area contained no large clams (>25.5 mm). Smaller populations were found in the upper reaches of a tidal creek draining the marsh (68 individuals per m2) and in an area flooded 5.8% of the year (73 individuals per m2). The average abundance of the clams on the marsh was 100 per m2. At least three recruitment periods were apparent. In laboratory studies, clams larger than 15 mm survived longer than 30 days without water. Clams smaller than 12 mm survived less than 6 days without water. Several decapods (Callinectes sapidus, Uca longisignalis, andSesarma reticulatum) consumed clams smaller than 10 mm but were unable to eat larger clams under laboratory conditions.Polymesoda caroliniana may be important to the functioning of the marsh by removing large quantities of particulate matter from flooding water. 相似文献
11.
The fish assemblages of two South Carolina estuarine tide pools located in the North Edisto River were sampled from June to October 1977, and during June and July 1978, by haul seine, lift net and channel net. The nekton was dominated numerically byFundulus heteroclitus, Leiostomus xanthurus, Menidia menidia andAnchoa mitchilli. Oyster reef areas were dominated numerically byGobiosoma bosci andF. heteroclitus. The relative abundance of tide pool fishes differs from deep water areas of the North Edisto River as described from otter trawls, but is similar to that described by others for South Carolina tidal creeks. 相似文献
12.
Growth, mortality, and production rates for spot,Leiostomus xanthurus Lacépede, were studied from January 1977 through August 1978 in tidal creeks of the Cape Fear estuary, North Carolina. Winter growth rates were low, averaging 0.14 and 0.16 mm per day in 1977 and 1978, respectively. Mortality rates were significantly higher in polyhaline marshes during 1977, however, similar rates were observed in oligohaline marshes in 1978. The difference is believed due to higher freshwater flows experienced in 1978, which apparently increased mortality rates upriver. Pooled monthly production estimates for all sampling sites combined yielded a value of 0.17 g per m2 (257 cal per m2). This figure is similar to those reported for spot collected in seagrass meadows in the vicinity of the Cape Fear estuary (Adams 1976). Because spot migrate offshore in the fall, this production also represents potential export of energy to the marine environment in the form of living biomass. 相似文献
13.
The most important food item of the cownose ray,Rhinoptera bonasus, in the Virginian tributaries of lower Chesapeake Bay is the soft shell clam,Mya arenaria. The Baltic macoma,Macoma balthica, ranks a distant second. Adult rays feed on deep burrowing mollusks, juveniles on shallow- or non-burrowing bivalves. Foraging schools of rays invade tidal flats during the flood tide. Stirring motions of the pectoral fins combined with suction from the expansive orobranchial chamber are probably used to excavate deep burrowing bivalves. 相似文献
14.
Accumulation of bivalve recruits in the bottom convergence at the center of coastal eddies has been suggested as a possible mechanism resulting in locally abundant adult populations. We investigated transport of juvenile gem clams (Gemma gemma) in a headland wake to determine whether they accumulated, and where. Velocity measurements during three flood tides showed that a wake consistently formed, but that flow speeds were too slow to transport juvenile clams to the eddy center. Instead, the clams were deposited just inside the wake perimeter, where shear velocities decreased to levels below critical erosion velocities of the clams. This result demonstrated that accumulation in a coastal flow separation can occur even in the absence of a well-defined eddy or a strong bottom convergence. Juvenile gem clams were carried, probably as bedload, to regions in the wake dominated by sediments with similar grain sizes, rather than similar fall velocities, suggesting that bedload transport was particularly dependent on particle diameter in this flow regime. Adult gem clam populations tended to be locally abundant in regions receiving transported juveniles, but clam transport on any specific flood tide was not sufficient to fully predict the adult distributions. 相似文献
15.
Habitat use patterns of the mummichog,Fundulus heteroclitus, in New England. I. Intramarsh variation
Patricia M. Halpin 《Estuaries and Coasts》1997,20(3):618-625
Although studies of intertidal habitats have contributed greatly to the field of ecology, the processes governing the use of these areas by highly mobile animals such as fish remain poorly understood. In particular, although large-scale patterns of estuarine fish abundances are well known, fine-scale patterns of habitat use have been largely overlooked. Here, I examine among and within habitat use patterns of the mummichog,Fundulus heteroclitus, in a New England salt marsh. Using minnow traps I sampled changes in mummichog habitat use among closely spaced sites within creeks, mudflat, and channel over 2 yr. The general pattern of mummichog captures was consistent among years, showing peaks in summer months and lows in winter. Use of specific habitat types was also seasonally dependent. For most of the year (fall, winter, spring) mudflat capture rates were lower than creek capture rates in the summer; however, densities in the mudflat equal or exceed those in creeks. In most months channel habitats did not differ significantly in use from either creek or mudflat habitat. Consistent patterns also occur within induividual marsh habitats.F. heteroclitus concentrate in the uppermost portion of creeks. Additionally, mudflat capture rates (August 1990) declined with increasing water depth. Diurnal habitat use is heavier than nocturnal use for all habitats. These findings demonstrate that mummichogs are restricted to areas representing a very small proportion of total available habitat and that their patterns of habitat use are strongly seasonal. Only careful experimental work can determine the relative advantages of these habitats for estuarine fish. Further comparative work is required to reveal how biological and physical parameters affecting habitat use may vary geographically. 相似文献
16.
Male blue crabsCallinectes sapidus Rathbun were allowed to forage on six size classes of the Atlantic rangia clam,Rangia cuneata (Sowerby), in laboratory squaria under conditions of restricted or unrestricted prey size availability. Prey profitability (energy gained divided by handling time) decreased as prey size increased. Crabs preferred smaller clams (1–2 cm long, then 2–3 cm long), as predicted by an energy maximization model. Under conditions of restricted prey sizes (nonreplacement experiments), when the smaller clams were no longer available, crabs tended to choose progressively larger clams. Crabs did not exhibit selective feeding behavior among clams larger than 3 cm long. For the range of crab sizes tested (71–167 mm carapace width), there was no correlation between crab carapace width and the mean clam size that was eaten. 相似文献
17.
Jeffrey R. Lucas 《Estuaries and Coasts》1982,5(2):138-144
Feeding habits ofMenidia peninsulae were analyzed monthly over a one year period and compared to planktonic prey available at the capture site. Three feeding stages were found: (1) In early spring, young-of-the-year fed on tychoplankton and detritus. (2) From late spring through winter,M. peninsulae preyed selectively on calanoid copepods and cypris larvae. (3) GravidM. peninsulae fed primarily on amphipods and larval silversides. In the Crystal River area,M. peninsulae reproduce in early spring. Silversides apparently migrate from the higher salinity bays to the lower salinity marshes in the summer, and then move back into the bays in fall. 相似文献
18.
During the year 1978, juvenile salmonids were collected from coastal streams running through China Poot Marsh and the stomach contents analyzed. Stomach contents of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and staghorn sculpin (Leptocottus armatus) from China Poot and of threespine stickleback from Potter Marsh were also analyzed; these two species were generally caught in tidal pools on the marshes. The juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) had the most varied diet; 37 different prey items were identified in the stomachs. By comparison, 25, 26, and 33 prey taxa were identified in the stomach contents of Dolly Varden char (Salvelinus malma), threespine stickleback, and staghorn sculpin, respectively. Amphipods were the dominant prey of all fish collected from China Poot Marsh; chironomidae larvae were the most common item in the stomach contents of threespine stickleback from Potter Marsh. The diets of all species changed over the course of the study period; the change was most dramatic for juvenile salmonids and sculpins. 相似文献
19.
Harriette L. Phelps 《Estuaries and Coasts》1994,17(3):614-621
The exotic freshwater clam speciesCorbicula fluminea (Asiatic clam) was first reported in the tidal freshwater Potomac estuary near Washington, D.C., in 1977, and was found in benthic surveys, conducted in 1978, 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1992. In 1981 a tripling of water clarity was reported in the region of the clam beds, followed in 1983 by reapperance of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) absent for 50 yr. Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) has been surveyed and mapped over the entire Potomac estuary region in almost every year from 1976 to 1993 by aerial photography, as part of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay program. Fish surveys in 1986 found populations increased up to 7× in beds of SAV. Starting in 1984, the Washington, D.C. Christmas Bird Census reported significant increases in several aquatic bird populations both nonmigratory and migratory. An extensive benthic survey in September 1986 estimated a spring-summer population of 8.7×106 kg Asiatic clams (wet weight including shell) in the 5-km region of the Potomac below Washington, D.C. This population was calculated as having the capacity to filter one-third to all of the water in this region of the estuary daily, depending on river flow. The 1986 clam population was smaller than that of 1984 and the 1992 population was 25% of that in 1986. Since 1986, SAV acreage has been decreasing in this area of the Potomac. Aquatic bird populations have declined. Yearly nuisance algae (Microcystis) blooms, which had been absent since 1983, reappeared in 1993. This paper presents evidence to support the theory the invasive Asiatic clam population in the 10 km below Washington, D.C., was responsible for SAV resurgence through filtration affecting turbidity. It suggests the clam populations triggered system-level changes in biota, including increase and decrease in local Potomac estuary populations (SAV, bird, fish, algae) over 10 yr, from 1983 to 1993. Major changes in the Asiatic clam population took place approximately 2 yr before parallel changes in SAV acreage were observed. 相似文献
20.
Thein situ growth of juvenile spot,Leiostomus xanthurus Lacépède, was investigated in a nursery area of the James River, Virginia. Juvenile growth was fairly rapid (11.34 mm standard length per month) during their first spring and summer in the nursery grounds, and leveled off in the autumn. The mean size of spot after the first year was calculated to be 148 mm standard length. The weight-length relationship was log10W = ?5.018+3.246 (log10L), where W = wet weight in grams and L = standard length in millimeters. The weight-length relationship of juvenile spot of the James River estuary differed statistically from that reported from South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Spot of the James River, Virginia, were found to be heavier per unit length than those of other regions, which suggests that the Chesapeake Bay system provides an optimum environment for growth of 0-year class fish. 相似文献