Spatial and temporal differences of Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) recruitment across major drainages (1966–2004) of the Chesapeake Bay watershed |
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| Authors: | Joseph W Love Andrea K Johnson Eric B May |
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| Institution: | 1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Department of Natural Sciences, Backbone Road, 21853, Princess Anne, Maryland
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| Abstract: | Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) is well known for its commercial and ecological importance and has been historically declining in the Chesapeake Bay (Maryland),
one of its principal nursery habitats along the eastern coast. Using data from the Striped Bass Seine Survey of the Maryland
Department of Natural Resources (2003), we evaluated how the distribution of Atlantic menhaden has changed from 1966 to 2004
for 12 river drainages. We observed significant or marginally significant declines in 42% of the drainages, with drainages
of the northern Bay showing the majority of those declines. Continued recruitment to several drainages of the Bay may partly
explain why the adult spawning population is not declining. We determined if temporal changes in abundance were related to
changes in salinity or water quality for five major drainages of the watershed. For one of these drainages, the Patuxent River,
differences in productivity across sites largely explained differences in abundance. For the four remaining drainages, differences
in recruitment could not be explained by productivity or salinity gradients. While reducing nitrogen loading and enhancing
water clarity may improve Atlantic menhaden production, we suggest that the role of offshore processes on large-scale declines
has been largely neglected and studies on larval ingression are necessary for further elucidation of spatial and temporal
patterns of juvenile distribution in the Chesapeake Bay. |
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