Environmental Biology of Fishes

, Volume 90, Issue 1, pp 61–70 | Cite as

Diel differences in fish assemblages in nearshore eelgrass and kelp habitats in Prince William Sound, Alaska

  • John F. Thedinga
  • Scott W. Johnson
  • A. Darcie Neff
Article
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Abstract

The importance of a particular habitat to nearshore fishes can be best assessed by both diurnal and nocturnal sampling. To determine diel differences in fish assemblages in nearshore eelgrass and understory kelp habitats, fishes were sampled diurnally and nocturnally at six locations in western Prince William Sound, Alaska, in summer 2007. Abundance of fish between day and night were similar, but species composition and mean size of some fish changed. Species richness and species diversity were similar in eelgrass during the day and night, whereas in kelp, species richness and species diversity were greater at night than during the day. In eelgrass, saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis) was the most abundant species during the day and night. In kelp, the most abundant species were Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) during the day and saffron cod at night. Diel differences in fish size varied by species and habitat. Mean length of saffron cod was similar between day and night in eelgrass but was greatest during the day in kelp. Pacific herring were larger at night than during the day in kelp. Diel sampling is important to identity nearshore habitats essential to fish and help manage fish stocks at risk.

Keywords

Nearshore fishes Diel catches Alaska Beach seine Eelgrass Kelp 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

We thank Fletcher Sewall and Ashwin Sreenivasan for help with field work, the crew of the R/V Solstice for vessel support, and Adam Moles and Jacek Maselko for reviewing this manuscript. Funding for this research was provided by the North Pacific Research Board (Project 642, Publication #261) and the NOAA Fisheries Essential Fish Habitat Program.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010

Authors and Affiliations

  • John F. Thedinga
    • 1
  • Scott W. Johnson
    • 1
  • A. Darcie Neff
    • 1
  1. 1.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science CenterAuke Bay LaboratoriesJuneauUSA

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