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1.
Subsidence and erosion of intertidal salt marsh at Galveston Island State Park, Texas, created new areas of subtidal habitat that were colonized by seagrasses begining in 1999. We quantified and compared habitat characteristics and nekton densities in monospecific beds of stargrassHalophila engelmanni and shoalgrassHalodule wrightii as well as adjacent nonvegetated substrates. We collected 10 replicates per habitat type during April, July, October, and December 2001. Most habitat characteristics varied with season. Water temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen were similar among habitat types. Turbidity and depth were greatest inH. engelmanni beds and least inH. wrightii beds.H. engelmanni exhibited shorter leaves and higher shoot density and biomass core−1 thanH. wrightii. Densities of almost all dominant species of nekton (fishes and decapods) were seasonally variable, all were higher in seagrass habitats than in nonvegetated habitats, and most were higher in one seagrass species than the other. Naked gobyGobiosoma bosc, code gobyGobiosoma robustum, bigclaw snapping shrimpAlpheus heterochaelis, and blue crabCallinectes sapidus, were most abundant inH. engelmanni. Brown shrimpFarfantepenaeus aztecus, brackish grass shrimpPalaemonetes intermedius, and daggerblade grass shrimpPalaemonetes pugio were most abundant inH. wrightii. PinfishLagodon rhomboides and pink shrimFarfantepenaeus duorarum were equally abundant in either seagrass. Most dominant nekton varied in size by month, but only two (L. rhomboides andC. sapidus) exhibited habitat-related differences in size. Nekton densities in these new seagrass habitats equaled or exceeded densities associated with historical and current intertidal smooth cordgrassSpartina alterniflora marsh. Continued seagrass expansion and persistence should ensure ecosystem productivity in spite of habitat change.  相似文献   

2.
Functional trajectory models were used to assess the restoration of ecological functions in two transplanted eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) beds compared to three natural, reference beds in the Great Bay Estuary, New Hamsphire. Functional trajectory models describe the development of ecological functions over time in restored habitats relative to levels of function in natural habitats. We present the first application of trajectory models to transplanted seagrass and evaluate the utility of these models as a tool for assessing seagrass restoration. The project was an analysis of 9 yr of monitoring data, the longest monitoring of transplanted eelgrass to date. We used trajectory models to assess the time course of development of functions in transplanted beds by evaluating statistical trends, and to determine functional equivalence, defined as the time when functions in a transplanted bed reach an asymptote and are no more than 1 standard deviation below the reference mean. The functions modeled included primary production, 3-dimensional habitat structure, faunal use, and sediment filtering and trapping. Measured proxies for primary production and habitat structure increased logistically (sigmoidally) with time, reaching functional equivalence after 3 yr. In transplanted beds, trends in habitat use by infaunal invertebrates and fish were logarithmic, and values were functionally equivalent 2–4 yr after transplanting. We saw no trend in sediment filtering and trapping capacity of transplanted eelgrass over the 9 yr. Measures of function in both reference and transplanted beds fluctuated due to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. After reaching equivalence, measures of function in transplanted beds tracked those in reference beds, exhibiting long-term persistence and rebounding from disturbances similarly to reference beds. Trajectory models can illustrate the time course of eelgrass bed development, aiding the design of monitoring programs and the evaluation of ecological functional equivalence in seagrass restoration projects.  相似文献   

3.
This study investigated macroinvertebrate community composition in seagrass beds at a range of spatial scales, with an emphasis on the transition between vegetated and unvegetated sediment. At four intertidal sites in three New Zealand estuaries (Whangamata, Wharekawa, and Whangapoua Harbours), a large continuous bed of seagrass (Zostera capricorni) was selected with adjacent unvegetated sediment. Macroinvertebrate community composition and biomass, as well as sediment characteristics, were determined at sampling locations 1 and 50 m inside seagrass beds, and 1, 10, and 50 m outside seagrass beds. Analysis of univariate measures of community composition (total abundance, number of species, and diversity) and total biomass indicated significant differences among sites and sampling locations, but contrary to many previous studies these measures were not higher inside than outside the seagrass beds. Multivariate analysis indicated that sites with high seagrass biomass supported a similar community composition. The remaining sampling locations were clustered by site, but there were also significant differences in community composition among sampling locations within a site. There were distinctive communities at the edge of seagrass beds at sites with high seagrass biomass, and evidence that the effects of seagrass beds may extend into the unvegetated sediment. At the low seagrass biomass site there was no evidence of any edge effects, although community composition differed inside and outside the bed. Differences in community composition were driven primarily by small changes in the relative abundance of the dominant taxa. At high seagrass biomass sites the absence of deep-burrowing polychaetes and low numbers of bivalves suggests that one possible mechanism underlying the observed variation in community composition was inhibition by the dense root-rhizome mat. The results of this study emphasize the need to consider the linkages between habitats in heterogeneous estuarine landscapes and how those linkages vary among sites, if the structure and functioning of macroinvertebrate communities in seagrass habitats are to be understood.  相似文献   

4.
The Laguna Madre of South Texas is a shallow coastal lagoon whose dominant primary producers shifted from seagrasses to phytoplankton with the onset of the Texas brown tide, which persisted from 1990 through 1997. Acartia tonsa is the dominant component of the mesozooplankton and forms an important link in both the phytoplankton and detritus-based pelagic food webs. Stable carbon isotope ratios of A. tonsa, as well as the two major primary producers: phytoplankton (as particulate organic carbon) and seagrasses, were measured from March 1989 to October 1991. Zooplankton samples were collected at four locations in the Laguna Madre: two in shallow water (c. 1 m) over seagrass beds and two in slightly deeper water (c. 2–3 m) over a muddy bottom in a secondary bay without seagrasses. We found seasonal trends in the isotopic composition of A. tonsa collected within both habitats as well as distinct differences between the average {ie995-1} values of individuals collected in the two regions. Isotopic ratios of animals collected during the summer months were generally 4–8‰ enriched in 13C compared with those collected in the winter, at all stations. A. tonsa collected over seagrass beds were 2–5‰ more enriched in 13C than those collected over muddy bottoms. These observations suggest carbon derived from seagrasses can be an important source of nutrition for these copepods in summer, especially for copepods living over seagrass beds. The effects of the persistent brown tide decreased the contribution of seagrasses as a carbon source for A. tonsa during the summer of 1991. The pathway by which seagrass carbon enters the diet of A. tonsa is unclear, but the two pathways considered most likely are through copepods feeding on microzooplankton that have fed on bacteria nourished on seagrass carbon, or by copepods feeding directly on particles of seagrass detritus.  相似文献   

5.
The US Army Corps of Engineers recently dredged and permanently reopened Packery Channel, historically a natural tidal inlet, to allow water exchange between the Gulf of Mexico and the Laguna Madre, TX, USA. The main objective of this study was to characterize estuarine-dependent recruitment and community structure in seagrass habitats adjacent to Packery Channel pre- and post-channel opening. We sampled fish and crustacean abundance using an epibenthic sled in Halodule wrightii seagrass meadows in both control and impact locations over 2 years, 1 year before the opening of Packery Channel (October 2004–May 2005) and 1 year after (July 2005–April 2006). Using the before–after control–impact design, we found significantly fewer nekton post-channel opening. However, we found significantly higher mean densities of newly settled estuarine-dependent species (Sciaenops ocellatus, Micropogonias undulatus, Lagodon rhomboides, Callinectes sapidus, and penaeid shrimp) post-opening. Multivariate analyses showed significant community assemblage changes post-opening with increased contribution of estuarine-dependent species post-opening. Our results show that estuarine-dependent nekton are using Packery Channel as a means of ingress into areas of the upper Laguna Madre’s seagrass meadows that were previously inaccessible, which may lead to higher fisheries productivity for some of these economically and ecologically important fishery species.  相似文献   

6.
Seagrass meadows are often cited as important nursery areas for newly settled red drum even though many estuaries, such as Galveston Bay, Texas, support large numbers of red drum and have limited seagrass cover, suggesting the use of alternate nursery areas. We examined patterns of habitat use for newly settled red drum at six sampling areas in Galveston Bay; two areas had seagrass beds and four areas had no seagrass. We measured densities in different habitat types using epibenthic sleds and enclosure samplers. Peak recruitment of young red drum to the estuary occurred during September through December. Highest densities of new settlers were found in seagrass meadows (primarilyHalodule wrightii), but when seagrass was absent, the highest densities of red drum occurred along theSpartina alterniflora marsh edge interface. Densities were relatively low on nonvegetated bottom away from the marsh edge. We also examined density patterns in other habitat types at selected sampling areas and found no red drum within marsh vegetation away from the marsh edge interface (5 and 10 m into the marsh interior). Oyster reefCrassostrea virginica was sampled using lift nets, and we found no red drum using this habitat, although adjacent seagrass and marsh interface habitats were used. Even though red drum densities in marsh edge were low relative to seagrass, the large areal extent of marshes in the bay complex probably makes marsh edge the most important nursery habitat for red drum in Galveston Bay.  相似文献   

7.
Our modeling objective was to better define the relationship between subtropical seagrass and potential water column and sediment stressors (light, organic and particle sedimentation, sediment nutrients, and the porewater sulfide system). The model was developed and optimized for sediments inThalassia testudinum seagrass beds of Lower Laguna Madre, Texas, U.S., and is composed of a plant submodel and a sediment diagenetic submodel. Simulations were developed for a natural stressor (harmful algal bloom,Aureoumbra lagunensis) and an anthropogenic, stressor (dredging event). The observed harmful algal bloom (HAB) was of limited duration and the simulations of that bloom showed no effect of the algal bloom on biomass trends but did suggest that sediment sulfides could inhibit growth if the bloom duration and intensity were greater. To examine this hypothesis we ran a simulation using data collected during a sustained 4-yr bloom in Upper Laguna Madre. Simulations suggested that light attenuation by the HAB could cause a small reduction inT. testudinum biomass, while input of organic matter from the bloom could promote development of a sediment geochemical environment toxic toT. testudinum leading to a major reduction in biomass. A 3-wk dredging event resulted in sedimentation of a layer of rich organic material and reduction of canopy light for a period of months. The simulations suggested that the seagrass could have recovered from the effects of temporary light reduction but residual effects of high sulfides in the sediments would make the region inhospitable for seagrasses for up to 2.5 yr. These modeling exercises illustrate that both natural and anthropogenic stressors can result in seagrass losses by radically altering the sedimentary geochemical environment.  相似文献   

8.
The spatial arrangement of seagrass beds varies from scales of centimeters to meters (rhizomes, shoot groups), meters to tens of meters (patches), to tens of meters to kilometers (seagrass landscapes). In this study we examine the role of patch scale (patch size, seagrass % cover, seagrass biomass), landscape scale (fractal geometry, patch isolation) and wave exposure (mean wind velocity and exceedance) variables in influencing benthic community composition in seagrass beds at three intertidal sites in northern New Zealand (two sites in Manukau Harbour and one site in Whangapoua Harbour). Analysis of univariate community measures (numbers of individuals and species, species richness, diversity and evenness) and multivariate analyses indicated that there were significant differences in community composition inside and outside of seagrass patches at each of the three sites. Partialling out the spatial and temporal components of the ecological variation indicated that seagrass patch variables explained only 3–4% of the patch scale variation in benthic community composition at each of the sites. The temporal component was more important, explaining 12–14% of the variation. The unexplained variation was high (about 75%) at all three sites, indicating that other factors were influencing variation in community composition at the scale of the patches, or that there was a large amount of stochastic variation. Landscape and wave exposure variables explained 62.5% of the variation in the species abundance data, and the unexplained variation at the landscape level was correspondingly low (12%). Canonical correspondence analysis produced an ordination that suggests that, while mean wind velocity and exceedance were important in explaining the differences between the communities in the two harbours, spatial patterning of the habitat, primarily fractal dimension, and secondarily patch isolation (or some factors that were similarly correlated), were important in contributing to variability in community composition at the two sites in Manukau Harbour. This study suggests that spatial patterning of seagrass habitat at landscape scales, independent of the patch scale characteristics of the seagrass beds, can affect benthic community composition. Community composition inside and outside seagrass habitats involves responses to seagrass bed structure at a series of hierarchical levels, and we need to consider more than one spatial scale if we are to understand community dynamics in seagrass habitats.  相似文献   

9.
Seagrass beds provide important habitat for fishes and invertebrates in many regions around the world. Accordingly, changes in seagrass coverage may affect fish communities and/or populations, given that many species utilize these habitats during vulnerable early life history stages. In lower Chesapeake Bay, seagrass distribution has contracted appreciably over recent decades due to decreased water clarity and increased water temperature; however, effects of changing vegetated habitat on fish community structure have not been well documented. We compared fish community composition data collected at similar seagrass sites from 1976–1977 and 2009–2011 to investigate potential changes in species richness, community composition, and relative abundance within these habitats. While seagrass coverage at the specific study sites did not vary considerably between time periods, contemporary species richness was lower and multivariate analysis showed that assemblages differed between the two datasets. The majority of sampled species were common to both datasets but several species were exclusive to only one dataset. For some species, relative abundances were similar between the two datasets, while for others, there were notable differences without directional uniformity. Spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) and northern pipefish (Syngnathus fuscus) were considerably less abundant in the contemporary dataset, while dusky pipefish (Syngnathus floridae) was more abundant. Observed changes in community structure may be more attributable to higher overall bay water temperature in recent years and other anthropogenic influences than to changes in seagrass coverage at our study sites.  相似文献   

10.
Coastal ecosystems such as eelgrass beds and salt marshes have always been valued for their high productivity and rich bounty of fish and shellfish. High plant productivity, complex physical structure, and suitable environmental characteristics combine to create areas of high production of important recreational and commercial species. If we are to successfully manage and restore these ecosystems, it is important to understand the mechanisms by which support of nekton may be affected by nutrient enrichment. A review of the literature suggests that there are some similarities and differences in the effects of nutrient enrichment on the support of nekton by seagrass and salt marsh ecosystems. Nutrient enrichment may compromise the ability of these habitats to support fish and invertebrates before the habitat itself is gone. In both ecosystems, alteration of characteristics within the ecosystem (for example, stem density in seagrass and food webs in marshes) affect the support of nekton, even though the basic ecosystem is still clearly extant. Because of differences in natural ecosystem characteristics, loss of ecosystem function does not occur through the same mechanisms. In seagrass systems, physical structure is usually lost first, followed by alteration of food webs and finally changes in dissolved oxygen. In salt marsh systems, loss of dissolved oxygen may occur early in the process, followed by food web alterations and eventually changes in the physical structure may occur. For both seagrass and salt marsh ecosystems, the mechanisms suggested to operate at the ecosystem-level are often based on relatively small-scale plot experiments that have been conducted in only a few locations. A better understanding of how these ecosystems function across broad geographic regions will be needed to ensure functioning coastal ecosystems.  相似文献   

11.
In 2008, the stable seagrass beds of the Mira estuary (SW Portugal) disappeared completely; however, during 2009, they have begun to present early symptoms of natural recovery, characterised by a strongly heterogeneous distribution. This study was designed to investigate the spatial and temporal variability patterns of species composition, densities and trophic composition of the benthic nematode assemblages in this early recovery process, at two sampling sites with three stations each and at five sampling occasions. Because of the erratic and highly patchy seagrass recovery and the high environmental similarity of the two sampling sites, we expected within-site variability in nematode assemblages to exceed between-site variability. However, contrary to that expectation, whilst nematode genus composition was broadly similar between sites, nematode densities differed significantly between sites, and this between-site variability exceeded within-site variability. This may be linked to differences in the Zostera recovery patterns between both sites. In addition, no clear temporal patterns of nematode density, trophic composition and diversity were evident. Nematode assemblages generally resembled those of other estuarine muddy intertidal areas, which have a high tolerance of stress conditions.  相似文献   

12.
Studies of fish assemblages between natural and newly recolonized (<4 yr) seagrass meadows have shown no significant differences in community composition between meadow types. However, comparison of natural and well-established (31 yr) recolonized seagrass meadows in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, showed that, although patterns in fish assemblages are complex and not always consistent, differences were evident. Species richness was higher in natural meadows during spring and autumn while density and species richness were higher in recolonized meadows during summer. Juveniles of all but the five most abundant species were more common in one or the other meadow type. Additionally, species composition was distinctly different between recolonized and natural seagrass meadows, as indicated by UPGMA cluster analysis based on the Morisita-Horn similarity index, Spearman'sr s (r s>0.05 in all but one case), and a maximum of only 58.5% species in common. There were also significant differences in the length-frequency distribution for six of seven abundant species. Our results suggest that a well-established recolonized seagrass meadow has the potential to maintain species complements distinct from nearby natural meadows. Reasons for our differing results may include differences in seagrass morphology and collecting techniques between our study and the former studies. Additionally, species may have a longer time to establish specific habitat-use patterns in well-established compared to newly-formed recolonized meadows. Recolonized seagrass meadows appear to be as suitable a habitat as natural meadows for juvenile and small adult fishes.  相似文献   

13.
Three quarters of the global human population will live in coastal areas in the coming decades and will continue to develop these areas as population density increases. Anthropogenic stressors from this coastal development may lead to fragmented habitats, altered food webs, changes in sediment characteristics, and loss of near-shore vegetated habitats. Seagrass systems are important vegetated estuarine habitats that are vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors, but provide valuable ecosystem functions. Key to maintaining these habitats that filter water, stabilize sediments, and provide refuge to juvenile animals is an understanding of the impacts of local coastal development. To assess development impacts in seagrass communities, we surveyed 20 seagrass beds in lower Chesapeake Bay, VA. We sampled primary producers, consumers, water quality, and sediment characteristics in seagrass beds, and characterized development along the adjacent shoreline using land cover data. Overall, we could not detect effects of local coastal development on these seagrass communities. Seagrass biomass varied only between sites, and was positively correlated with sediment organic matter. Epiphytic algal biomass and epibiont (epifauna and epiphyte) community composition varied between western and eastern regions of the bay. But, neither eelgrass (Zostera marina) leaf nitrogen (a proxy for integrated nitrogen loading), crustacean grazer biomass, epifaunal predator abundance, nor fish and crab abundance differed significantly among sites or regions. Overall, factors operating on different scales appear to drive primary producers, seagrass-associated faunal communities, and sediment properties in these important submerged vegetated habitats in lower Chesapeake Bay.  相似文献   

14.
Species richness and abundance of seagrass-associated fauna are often positively correlated with seagrass biomass and structure complexity of the habitat. We found that while shoot density and plant biomass were greater in interior portions of turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) beds than at edges, mean faunal density was significantly greater at edges than interior sites during 1994. This pattern was also observed in 1995, although differences were not significant. The four numerically dominant taxonomic groups showed varying degrees of elevated densitities at edges ofT. testudinum beds. Peracarids and polychaetes had significantly greater densities at edges oft. testudinum beds, while both decapods and gastropods showed dramatic temporal variability in density, with reversals in density between edge and interior occurring during the course of the study. This within-habitat variability in abundance may reflect both active accumulation of fauna at edges and settlement shadows for species with pelagic larvae. Active accumulation of highly mobile taxa seeking refuge in seagrass beds may explain the differences in density between edge and interior ofT. testudinum patches for peracarids in 1994 and in 1995. Active accumulation at edges may also explain differeces in density for some decapod taxa. Chauges in gastropod densities between habitats may reflect larval settlement patterns. Results showed a distinct settlement shadow for the gastropodCaecum nitidum whose densities (primarily second stage protoconch) increased by more than an order of magnitude in 1994. Settlement shadows and post-settlement processes may also explain density differences of polychaetes between the edge and interior ofT. testudinum patches. The differences in faunal densities between edge and interior habitat resulted in habitat specific differences in secondary production among the major taxonomic groups. On four of five dates in 1994 and in 1995, secondary production was greater at edge than interior locations. These unexpected results suggest that differences in faunal densities and secondary production between edges and interiors of seagrass patches represent a potentially vital link in seagrass trophic dynamics. If this elevated secondary production leads to increases in trophic transfer, then edges may serve as a significant trophic conduit to higher-level consumers in this system.  相似文献   

15.
Continuous, long-term studies of coastal grassbed assemblages in the N.E. Gulf of Mexico indicate complex relationships between physical controlling factors and biological response. Such seagrass systems are physically unstable over short periods. Seasonal ranges of temperature, salinity, and natural water quality conditions are considerable with periodic, recurrent “catastrophic” events such as floods and cold winters. These factors control the distribution and productivity of the seagrasses and algae which constitute the habitat and organic substrate for diverse assemblages of organisms. In addition, the benthic plants mediate predator-prey relationships and competitive interactions. Despite the physical instability, timed sequences of distinct ontogenetic feeding populations are generally stable from year to year as are other population and community characteristics. Thus, physical processes determine overall habitat conditions and productivity cycles whereas biological processes such as predation and competition define specific community relationships. However, seemingly minor changes in the physical environment due to anthropogenous activities can lead to major reorganization of the biological system; the observed biological stability of the seagrass beds can be ephemeral if important habitat features are altered in a way that exceeds the adaptive response of the system. Concepts are discussed which relate observed sequences of ontogenetic feeding units to food web patterns and geographic differences of population-niche relationships from one estuary to another.  相似文献   

16.
We compared nekton use of prominent habitat types within a lagoonal system of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico (GoM). These habitat types were defined by combinations of structure (cover type) and location (distance from shore) as: Spartina edge (≤1 m from shore), Spartina (3 m from shore); Juncus edge (≤1 m from shore); seagrass located 3, 5, and 20 m from shore; and shallow non-vegetated bottom at various distances from shore. Although seagrass and Spartina edge sites differed little in environmental characteristics, the density and biomass of most abundant taxa, including pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum), were higher in seagrass. Most species within seagrass and Spartina did not differ in abundance or biomass with distance from shore. Our study revealed a shift in peak habitat use in the northeastern GoM to seagrass beds from the pattern observed to the west where nekton is concentrated within shoreline emergent vegetation.  相似文献   

17.
Seagrasses are submerged marine plants that are anchored to the substrate and are therefore limited to assimilating nutrients from the surrounding water column or sediment, or by translocating nutrients from adjacent shoots through the belowground rhizome. As a result, seagrasses have been used as reliable ecosystem indicators of surrounding nutrient conditions. The Chandeleur Islands are a chain of barrier islands in the northern Gulf of Mexico that support the only marine seagrass beds in Louisiana, USA, and are the sole location of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum across nearly 1000 km of the coastline from west Florida to central Texas. Over the past 150 years, the land area of the Chandeleur Islands has decreased by over half, resulting in a decline of seagrass cover. The goals of this study were to characterize the status of a climax seagrass species at the Chandeleur Islands, T. testudinum, in terms of leaf nutrient (nitrogen [N] and phosphorus [P]) changes over time, from 1998 to 2015, and to assess potential drivers of leaf nutrient content. Thalassia testudinum leaf nutrients displayed considerable interannual variability in N and P content and molar ratios, which broadly mimicked patterns in annual average dissolved nutrient concentrations in the lower Mississippi River. Hydrological modeling demonstrated the potential for multiple scenarios that would deliver Mississippi River water, and thus nutrients, to T. testudinum at the Chandeleur Islands. Although coastal eutrophication is generally accepted as the proximate cause for seagrass loss globally, there is little evidence that nutrient input from the Mississippi River has driven the dramatic declines observed in seagrasses at the Chandeleur Islands. Rather, seagrass cover along the Chandeleur Islands appears to be strongly influenced by island geomorphological processes. Although variable over time, the often elevated nutrient levels of the climax seagrass species, T. testudinum, which are potentially driven by river-derived nutrient inputs, raises an important consideration of the potential loss of the ecosystem functions and services associated with these declining seagrass meadows.  相似文献   

18.
In recent years, artificial establishment of Spartina alterniflora marshes has become a common method for mitigating impacts to salt marsh systems. The vegetative component of artificially established salt marshes has been examined in several studies, but relatively little is known about the other aspects of these systems. This study was undertaken to investigate the infaunal community of artificially established salt marshes. Infauna were sampled from pairs of artificially established (AE) salt marshes and nearby natural marshes at six sites along the North Carolina coast. The AE marshes ranged in age from 1 yr to 17 yr. Total infaunal density, density of dominant taxa, and community trophic structure (proportions of subsurface-deposit feeders, surface-deposit and suspension feeders, and carnivores) were compared between the two types of marsh to assess infaunal community development in AE marshes. Overall, the two marsh types had similar component organisms and proportions of trophic groups, but total density and densities within trophic groupings were lower in the AE marshes. Soil organic matter content of the natural marshes was nearly twice that of the AE marshes, and is a possible cause for the higher infaunal densities observed in the natural marshes, Using the same three criteria, comparisons of the natural and AE marshes at each of the six locations revealed varying degrees of similarity. Similarity of each AE marsh to its natural marsh control appeared to be influenced by differences in environmental factors between locations more than by AE marsh age. Functional infaunal habitat convergence of an AE marsh with a natural marsh somewhere within its biogeographical region is probable, but success in duplicating the infaunal community of a particular natural marsh is contingent upon the developmental age of the natural marsh and the presence and interaction, of site-specific factors.  相似文献   

19.
Variability in the abundance and distribution of seagrass-associated fish assemblages was examined at different depths in a temperate bay in southern Australia. Depth differences in seagrass-associated fish assemblages are poorly known but this information is critical given that seagrass loss can occur at specific depths depending on the cause. Overall, 69 species of fish from 26 families were recorded, with higher species richness in shallow than deep beds, with 12 species found only in deep beds and 22 species found only in shallow beds. While the total fish abundance (i.e. abundance of all species recorded) varied between years and seasons, and to some extent between sites, it was significantly higher in shallow than deep seagrass beds in the majority of cases. Although there was some variation between sites, seagrass tended to be longer and have a higher biomass in shallow than deep beds during both spring and autumn throughout the study. A positive relationship between seagrass biomass/length and total fish abundance/species richness was apparent. Assemblage structure tended to be distinct at each depth, with the largest species recorded in shallow seagrass. Large numbers of small schooling fish, such as atherinids, dominated in shallow seagrass but were not found in deep seagrass. Loss of seagrass could therefore have varying implications for distinct assemblages found at different depths.  相似文献   

20.
Decapod crustaceans occupying seagrass, salt marsh edge, and oyster habitats within the St. Martins Aquatic Preserve along the central Gulf coast of Florida were quantitatively sampled using a 1-m2 throw trap during July–August 1999 and March–April 2000. Relative abundance and biomass were used as the primary measures to compare patterns of occupancy among the three habitat types. Representative assemblages of abundant and common species from each habitat were compared using Schoener's Percent Similarity Index (PSI). In all, 17,985 decapods were sampled, representing 14 families and 28 species. In the summer sampling period, mean decapod density did not differ between oyster and seagrass habitats, which both held greater densities of decapods than marsh-edge. In the spring sampling period oyster reef habitat supported greater mean decapod density than both seagrass and marsh-edge, which had similar densities of decapods. Habitat-specific comparisons of decapod density between the two sampling periods indicated no clear seasonal effect. In summer 1999, when seagrasses were well established, decapod biomass among the three habitats was not significantly different. During spring 2000, decapod biomass in oyster (41.40 gm−2) was greater than in marshedge (4.20 gm−2), but did not differ from that of seagrass (9.73 g m−2). There was no significant difference in decapod biomas between seagrass and marsh-edge habitats during the spring 2000 sampling period. The assemblage analysis using Schoener's PSI indicated that decapod assemblages associated with oyster were distinct from seagrass and marshedge habitats (which were similar). The results of this study suggest that in comparison to seagrass and marsh-edge habitats, oyster reef habitats and the distinct assemblage of decapod crustaceans that they support represent an ecologically important component of this estuarine system.  相似文献   

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