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Environmental Drivers of Seagrass-Associated Nekton Abundance Across the Northern Gulf of Mexico

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Abstract

Small variations in environmental parameters can substantially alter species composition, but the extent to which different species respond to these changes remains obscure. A synoptic survey of seagrass-associated faunal communities was performed across the Gulf of Mexico using otter trawls coupled with seagrass and water quality assessments. The abundance of eight central seagrass inhabitants, representing a range of functional groups, were quantified to identify factors that best predicted their prevalence across environmental gradients and the consistency of these ecological relationships. Seagrass density and drift algal biomass generally had the strongest influence on animal abundance (40–67%), although relationships with drift algae were species specific and seemingly related to faunal size and mobility. Abundances of free-swimming pinfish, pigfish, and silver perch were negatively related to drift algae biomass (0.7, 0.7, and 1.0% Δ per 1 g·m−2 drift algae, respectively), whereas the abundance of pipefish (Syngnathus spp.) and brown/pink shrimp (Penaeus spp.) tended to be positively related to algal biomass (0.8 and 1.6% Δ per 1 g·m−2 drift algae). Shrimp abundances increased by 3.6% per 1% increase in light attenuation while the abundance of a higher-order visual predator, silver perch, negatively responded to light attenuation (1.1% Δ per 1% Δ vertical light attenuation). Additionally, bivariate plots of organismal abundance and salinity or canopy height indicated a unimodal relationship with peaks in abundance associated with intermediate values for several species. This study explored the extent species and functional groups responded to variation in key elements of the abiotic and biotic environment, providing insight into community development and offering resource managers quantitative targets for aspects of habitat quality.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Dr. Jessica Lunt, Randi Cannon, Joey Reustle, Samantha Smith, Adam Kemberling, Donna O’Dell, Katie Toth, Michael Wheeler, Robin Jung, Manuel Merello, Scott Alford, Ashley McDonald, Whitney Scheffel, Sawyer Downey, Christina Moreau, and the many student volunteers and interns for their help in collecting and processing samples.

Funding

Funding was provided by the NOAA RESTORE Science Program, grant number: NA17NOS4510093.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island, AL, 36528, USA

    Benjamin A. Belgrad & Delbert L. Smee

  2. Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, 78412, USA

    Benjamin A. Belgrad & Kelly M. Correia

  3. Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, 36688, USA

    Kelly M. Correia & Delbert L. Smee

  4. Division of Coastal Sciences, School of Ocean Science and Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi, Ocean Springs, MS, 39564, USA

    Kelly M. Darnell, M. Zachary Darnell & Christian T. Hayes

  5. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St. Petersburg, FL, 33701, USA

    Margaret O. Hall & Bradley T. Furman

  6. Nature Coast Biological Station, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Cedar Key, FL, 32625, USA

    Charles W. Martin

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  1. Benjamin A. Belgrad
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Correspondence to Benjamin A. Belgrad.

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Communicated by Henrique Cabral

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Belgrad, B.A., Correia, K.M., Darnell, K.M. et al. Environmental Drivers of Seagrass-Associated Nekton Abundance Across the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Estuaries and Coasts 44, 2279–2290 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-021-00927-0

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