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Detection of decreased quantities of actively spawning female Fundulus heteroclitus in tidally restricted marshes relative to restored and reference sites

  • PHRAGMITES INVASION
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Abstract

Hydrologic restriction of salt marshes and subsequent invasion by Phragmites australis could influence the reproductive success of Fundulus heteroclitus, a common salt marsh resident that forages and spawns on the marsh surface at flood tide. Previous research in our laboratory using data from 2010 to 2011 examined the proportion of actively spawning F. heteroclitus residing in altered New England salt marshes as part of a larger experiment to examine the physiological condition of fish in restricted and restored marshes relative to paired unrestricted (reference) sites. We detected a significant decrease in the proportion of actively spawning fish in restricted relative to paired unrestricted marshes, but no difference between restored and paired unrestricted marsh fish. In this manuscript, we conduct a re-analysis of a portion of that data (July 2011) to explore potential mechanisms behind previous results. Using forward stepwise selection and generalized linear mixed models, we determined that the reduction in actively spawning restricted marsh fish was due to a single predictor (lipid mass); there were no effects of water temperature, body size, parasite prevalence, parasite density, and growth rate on the response. Previous results indicate healthy restricted marsh fish already have reduced energy reserves. Since investment in oocytes is energetically costly (this analysis), the effect could manifest at the population level as a reduction in actively spawning fish. In addition, oocyte quality is reduced in restricted marshes (as measured by % lipid; 13.9 ± 1.6 % SD) relative to paired unrestricted marshes (15.9 ± 2.3 % SD). Although these data are preliminary and represent a single lunar cycle, additional studies are warranted to explore relationships between P. australis invasion, restoration, and effects on the fecundity of this ubiquitous salt marsh fish.

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Acknowledgments

We thank P. Pooler for her assistance with the statistical analysis in this manuscript. We also thank T. Lewis (Fredette), K. Dyer, S. Batters, A. Becker, D. Duffin, E. Swanson, A. Collins, D. Cannata, T. Murphy, K. Lellis, W. Lellis, and N. Dibble for field and laboratory assistance. The following agencies and organizations provided support: EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship (FP-91710001-0), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NERR Graduate Fellowship (NA09NOS4200041), National Science Foundation (NSF) IGERT Grant to the Coastal Institute at URI (0504103), US NSF DEB Award (1049914), Philanthropic Educational Organization (Lellis-Dib3158688), Northeast Aquatic Plant Management Society, Rhode Island Natural History Survey and The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island (Lellis-Dibble 05-30-09), URI Agricultural Experiment Station (RI00H-332, 311000-6044), URI Coastal Fellows Program, and the U.S. and Czech Fulbright Commissions.

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  1. Kimberly L. Dibble

    Present address: U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, 2255 N. Gemini Drive, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources Science, University of Rhode Island, 1 Greenhouse Road, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA

    Kimberly L. Dibble & Laura A. Meyerson

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  1. Kimberly L. Dibble
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  2. Laura A. Meyerson
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Correspondence to Kimberly L. Dibble.

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Guest editors: Laura A. Meyerson and Kristin Saltonstall/Phragmites invasion.

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Dibble, K.L., Meyerson, L.A. Detection of decreased quantities of actively spawning female Fundulus heteroclitus in tidally restricted marshes relative to restored and reference sites. Biol Invasions 18, 2679–2687 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-016-1153-y

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