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A case study of sequential colonization: intra- and interspecific patterns of recovery in a hydrologically pulsed ecosystem

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Abstract

Community assembly is influenced by disturbance intensity, sequential colonization (arrival order) of species, and interactions between species arriving early and species arriving later. We documented both intra- and interspecific patterns of colonization following hydrological disturbance using a 20-year time series of marsh-fish density at 21 study sites located in the Everglades, Florida, USA, as a case study of sequential colonization. The critical swimming speed (UCRIT) of 20 juveniles and 20 adults for six species was estimated using UCRIT tests to evaluate if UCRIT predicted timing of re-colonization. We observed a consistent pattern of species colonization over 500 disturbance events. On average, juveniles of early arriving species were collected prior to adults, while adults consistently appeared prior to juveniles for late-arriving species. Density at first collection was inversely correlated with arrival order; early arriving species tended to have higher density when first collected following marsh re-flooding than later arriving ones. Females consistently arrived before males for all species where sex could be identified. Neither absolute nor size-adjusted UCRIT was correlated with arrival order. Although interspecific colonization was highly repeatable, intraspecific differences among demographic groups were species-specific and possibly tied to reproductive biology and juvenile life history. Juvenile early arrival may indicate rapid colonization of pregnant females (Poeciliidae), diapausing eggs laid before marsh drying, or early development of robust swimming capacity (Cyprinodontidae and Fundulidae); in the Everglades, water currents are absent or too weak to support larval drift as an important mechanism. Stage- and sex-specific UCRIT and reproductive traits such as embryo diapause in oviparous species need more attention to understand successional dynamics following disturbance in aquatic communities.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research (FCE LTER) repository, https://fcelter.fiu.edu/data/.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Alan Katzenmeyer and Jan Hoover from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for lending us their Blazka-style swim chamber. Bill Loftus, Alan Mock, and Matt Pintar provided helpful comments on various drafts of the manuscript. We would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers who provided helpful criticism to improve the manuscript. This material was developed in collaboration with the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under National Science Foundation Grant No. DEB-1237517. This is publication #1696 from the Institute of Environment at Florida International University.

Funding

This work was supported by the American Killifish Association George Maier Fund, FIU Dissertation Year Fellowship, and by a Cooperative Agreement between Everglades National Park and FIU (Critical Ecosystem Science Initiative Task Agreements P06AC00043 and P16AC01546).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences and Institute of the Environment, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, 33181, USA

    John V. Gatto & Joel C. Trexler

  2. Technical Service Center, Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Federal Center, Bldg. 67, PO Box 25007, Denver, CO, 80225, USA

    John V. Gatto

  3. South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades National Park, 40001 State Road 9336, Homestead, FL, 33034, USA

    Jeffrey L. Kline

  4. Coastal and Marine Laboratory, Florida State University, St. Teresa, Tallahassee, FL, 32346, USA

    Joel C. Trexler

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  1. John V. Gatto
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Correspondence to John V. Gatto.

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Vertebrate organisms were euthanized using a solution of MS-222 and ambient marsh water as approved by the FIU Animal Use and Care permits. This work was conducted under multiple FIU Institutional Animal Use and Care permits, including IACUC-16–034 and IACUC-17–035.

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Gatto, J.V., Kline, J.L. & Trexler, J.C. A case study of sequential colonization: intra- and interspecific patterns of recovery in a hydrologically pulsed ecosystem. Environ Biol Fish 107, 347–367 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-024-01535-0

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