Comparative patterns of occupancy by decapod crustaceans in seagrass,oyster, and marsh-edge habitats in a Northeast Gulf of Mexico estuary |
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| Authors: | Email author" target="_blank">Thomas?P?GlancyEmail author Thomas?K?Frazer Charles?E?Cichra William?J?Lindberg |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2258, USA;(2) The Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine & Coastal Sciences, University of South Carolina, 607 EWS Building, Columbia, SC 29208, USA |
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| Abstract: | 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. |
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