Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of Shoreline Modifications on Supratidal Macroinvertebrate Fauna on Puget Sound, Washington Beaches

  • Published:
Estuaries and Coasts Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In coastal environments, the supratidal zone bridges marine and terrestrial ecosystems and is important for energy exchange. However, it is also subject to extensive anthropogenic disturbance, such as armoring of shorelines. Shoreline armoring is extensive along many coasts, but the impacts on biota are comparatively unknown. Between 2000 and 2002, paired and synoptic sampling regimes were employed to assess armoring effects on insects and benthic macroinvertebrates in the supratidal zone of Puget Sound beaches. Paired sampling showed natural beach sites had significantly more deposited wrack. Infauna was dominated by oligochaetes and nematodes; talitrid amphipods, insects, and collembolans were significantly more numerous at natural beaches, and crustaceans were more abundant at altered beaches. Insect assemblages were diverse, with taxon richness higher at natural beach sites. In the synoptic sampling, where sites with higher elevation modifications were used, there were fewer differences in invertebrate assemblages between armored and nonarmored sites. The results show that, where shoreline armoring lowers the land–sea interface, benthic infauna and insect assemblages are disrupted. Widespread shoreline modifications may decrease the availability of prey resources for fish and wildlife and decrease the contribution of organic material entering the nearshore ecosystem.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allan, J.D., M.S. Wipfli, J.P. Caouette, A. Prussian, and J. Rodgers. 2003. Influence of streamside vegetation on inputs of terrestrial invertebrates to salmonid food webs. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 60: 309–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Attrill, M.J., D.T. Bilton, A.A. Rowden, S.D. Rundle, and R.M. Thomas. 1999. The impact of encroachment and bankside development on the habitat complexity and supralittoral invertebrate communities of the Thames Estuary foreshore. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 9: 237–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bousfield, E.L. 1981. Systematics and distributional ecology of beach hoppers (Amphipoda: Talitridae) of the Pacific coast of North America. Estuaries 4: 253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brennan, J.S., K.F. Higgins, J.R. Cordell, and V.A. Stamatiou. 2004. Juvenile salmon composition, timing, distribution, and diet in marine nearshore waters of Central Puget Sound in 2001–2002. Seattle: King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brodeur, R.D. 1989. Neustonic feeding by juvenile salmonids in coastal waters of the Northeast Pacific. Canadian Journal of Zoology 67: 1995–2007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burdick, D.M., and F.T. Short. 1999. The effects of boat docks on eelgrass beds in coastal waters of Massachusetts. Environmental Management 23: 231–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carefoot, T. 1977. Pacific seashores. Seattle: University of Washington Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, M.G. 2003. Paucity of mobile species on constructed seawalls: Effects of urbanization on biodiversity. Marine Ecology Progress Series 264: 21–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, M.G., and F. Bulleri. 2003. Intertidal seawalls—New features of landscape in intertidal environments. Landscape and Urban Planning 62: 159–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colombini, I., A. Aloia, M. Fallaci, G. Pezzoli, and L. Chelazzi. 2000. Temporal and spatial use of stranded wrack by the macrofauna of a tropical sandy beach. Marine Biology 136: 531–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dethier, M. 1990. A marine and estuarine habitat classification system for Washington State. Olympia: Washington Natural Heritage Program, Department of Natural Resources.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglass, S., and B. Pickel. 1999. The tide doesn't go out anymore—The effect of bulkheads on urban bay shorelines. Shore and Beach 67: 19–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Downing, J. 1983. The Coast of Puget Sound: Its processes and development. Seattle: Washington Sea Grant, University of Washington Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, E.J., D.A. Beauchamp, and R.M. Buckley. 2005. Early marine life history of juvenile Pacific salmon in two regions of Puget Sound. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 64: 94–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dugan, J.E., D.M. Hubbard, M.D. McCrary, and M.O. Pierson. 2003. The response of macrofauna communities and shorebirds to macrophyte wrack subsidies on exposed sandy beaches of southern California. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 58: 25–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emmett, R., R. Lianso, J. Newton, R. Thom, M. Hornberger, C. Morgan, C. Levings, A. Copping, and P. Fishman. 2000. Geographic signatures of North American West Coast Estuaries. Estuaries 23: 765–792.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Folk, R. 1964. Petrology of sedimentary rocks. Austin: Hemphills.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, A., C. A. Simenstad, D. L. Bottom, and T. Cornwell. 2002. Contrasting functional performance of juvenile salmon habitat in recovering wetlands of the Salmon River estuary, Oregon, U.S.A. Restoration Ecology 10: 514–526.

    Google Scholar 

  • Groot, C., and L. Margolis. 1991. Pacific salmon life histories. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Healey, M.C. 1981. Juvenile Pacific salmon in estuaries: The life support system. Estuaries 4: 285.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hubbard, D.M., and J.E. Dugan. 2003. Shorebird use of an exposed sandy beach in southern California. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 58S: 41-54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inman, D.L., and B.M. Brush. 1973. The coastal challenge. Science 181: 20–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jedrzejczak, M.F. 2002. Spatio-temporal decay ‘hot spots’ of stranded wrack in a Baltic sandy coastal system. Part I. Comparative study of the pattern: 1 type of wrack vs beach sites. Oceanologia 44: 491–512.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitchell, J.F., L.A. Eby, X. He, D.E. Schindler, and R.A. Wright. 1994. Predator–prey dynamics in an ecosystem context. Journal of Fish Biology 45: 209–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koch, H. 1989. The effect of tidal inundation on the activity and behavior of the supralittoral talitrid amphipod Traskorchestia traskiana (Stimpson, 1857). Crustaceana 56: 162–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levings, C.D., and R.M. Thom. 1994. Habitat changes in Georgia Basin: Implications for resource management and restoration. Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 1948: 330–351.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, T.L., M. Mews, D.E. Jelinski, and M. Zimmer. 2007. Detrital subsidy to the supratidal zone provides feeding habitat for intertidal crabs. Estuaries and Coasts 30: 451–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, J.S., D. Simpson, B. Paulsen, J. Cox, and J. Gendron. 1994. Shoreline armoring effects on physical coastal processes in Puget Sound, Washington. Olympia: Washington Department of Ecology.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCune, B., and J.B. Grace. 2002. Analysis of ecological communities. Gleneden Beach: MJM Software Design.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers, D. 2001. Integrating the science of habitat-maintaining processes into natural resource policy. Earth System Monitor 12: 9–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naiman, R.J., and H. Decamps (eds.). 1990. The Ecology and Management of Aquatic-Terrestrial Ecotones. Paris and Carnforth: UNESCO and Parthenon Publishing Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council (NRC). 2007. Mitigating shore erosion along sheltered coasts. Committee on Mitigating Shore Erosion along Sheltered Coasts. Washington: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, T.A. 2001. Species composition and controls of ulvoid algal blooms in Washington State. Journal of Phycology 37: 38–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nightingale, B., and C.A. Simenstad. 2001. Overwater structures: Marine issues, 133. Seattle: University of Washington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nordstrom, K.F. 1989. Erosion control strategies for bay and estuarine beaches. Coastal Management 17: 25–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pank, B.A. 1997. Beach hoppers: Sandy-shore custodians. Oceanorama 27: 21–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennings, S., T. Carefoot, M. Zimmer, J. Danko, and A. Ziegler. 2000. Feeding preferences of supralittoral isopods and amphipods. Canadian Journal of Zoology 78: 1918–1929.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, M.S., B.H. Comyns, J.R. Hendon, P.J. Bond, and G.A. Duff. 2000. Habitat use by early life-history stages of fishes and crustaceans along a changing estuarine landscape: Differences between natural and altered shoreline sites. Wetlands Ecology and Management 8: 209–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polis, G.A., and S.D. Hurd. 1996. Linking marine and terrestrial food webs: Allochthonous input from the ocean supports high secondary productivity on small islands and coastal land communities. American Naturalist 147: 396–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, C.A. 2006. Effects of shoreline modification on a northern Puget Sound Beach: Microclimate and embryo mortality in surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus). Estuaries and Coasts 29: 63–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romanuk, T.N., and C.D. Levings. 2003b. Cascading effects of removal of marine supralittoral vegetation on arthropod communities and juvenile salmonids. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah.

  • Romanuk, T.N., and C.D. Levings. 2003. Associations between arthropods and the supralittoral ecotone: Dependence of aquatic and terrestrial taxa on riparian vegetation. Environmental Entomology 32: 1343–1353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romanuk, T.N., and C.D. Levings. 2005. Stable isotope analysis of trophic position and terrestrial vs. marine carbon sources for juvenile Pacific salmonids in nearshore marine habitats. Fisheries Management and Ecology 12: 113–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savard, J.-P., L.P. Clergeau, and G. Mennechez. 2000. Biodiversity concepts and urban ecosystems. Landscaping and Urban Planning 48: 131–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlacher, T.A., D.S. Schoeman, J. Dugan, M. Lastra, A. Jones, F. Scapini, and A. McLachlan. 2008. Sandy beach ecosystems: key features, sampling issues, management challenges and climate change impacts. Marine Ecology 29: 70–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shreffler, D., C. Simenstad, and R. Thom. 1992. Foraging by juvenile salmon in a restored estuarine wetland. Estuaries 15: 204–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simenstad, C.A., B.S. Miller, C.F. Nyblade, K. Thornburgh, and L.J. Bledsoe. 1979. Food web relationships of Northern Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca: A synthesis of the available knowledge, 335. Seattle: Fisheries Research Institute, College of Fisheries, UW.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simenstad, C., K. Fresh, and E. Salo. 1982. The role of Puget Sound and Washington coastal estuaries in the life history of Pacific salmon: An unappreciated function. In Estuarine comparisons, ed. V. Kennedy, 343–364. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simenstad, C.A., C.T. Tanner, R.M. Thom, and L.L. Conquest. 1991. Estuarine habitat assessment protocol. Seattle: US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simenstad, C.A., M.N. Dethier, C.D. Levings, and D.E. Hay. 1997. The terrestrial/marine ecotone. In The rainforests of home, ed. P.K. Schoonmaker, B. VonHagen, and E.C. Wolf, 149–188. Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanner, C.D., J.R. Cordell, J. Rubey, and L.M. Tear. 2002. Restoration of freshwater intertidal habitat functions at Spencer Island, Everett, Washington. Restoration Ecology 10: 564–576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toft, J.D., J.R. Cordell, C.A. Simenstad, and L.A. Stamatiou. 2007. Fish distribution, abundance, and behavior along city shoreline types in Puget Sound. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 27: 465–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toweil, D.E. 1974. Winter food habits of river otters in western Oregon. Journal of Wildlife Management 38: 107–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vermeer, K. 1982. Comparison of the diet of the glaucous-winged gull on the east and west coasts of Vancouver Island. The Murrelet 63: 80–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Washington Department of Natural Resources. 1999. Washington State Shorezone Inventory CD. Olympia: Nearshore Habitat Program.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentworth, C.K. 1922. A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments. Journal of Geology 30: 377–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zar, J.H. 1999. Biostatistical analysis. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmer, M., S.C. Pennings, T.L. Buck, and T.H. Carefoot. 2002. Species-specific patterns of litter processing by terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea) in high intertidal salt marshes and coastal forests. Functional Ecology 16: 596–607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank C. Rice, J. Gregg, M. Nelson, and the Wetland Ecosystem Team for field and lab support. M. Dethier and B. Miller provided comments on early drafts of the manuscript. R. Latour provided help with statistical analysis, and three anonymous reviewers provided suggestions that strengthened the final version. Support for this project was provided by King County, Washington Department of Natural Resources, US Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District, NOAA Fisheries NWFSC, and the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Kathryn L. Sobocinski

    Present address: Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William & Mary, 1208 Greate Road, Gloucester Point, VA, 23062, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, 1122 N.E. Boat Street, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Kathryn L. Sobocinski, Jeffery R. Cordell & Charles A. Simenstad

Authors
  1. Kathryn L. Sobocinski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jeffery R. Cordell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Charles A. Simenstad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kathryn L. Sobocinski.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sobocinski, K.L., Cordell, J.R. & Simenstad, C.A. Effects of Shoreline Modifications on Supratidal Macroinvertebrate Fauna on Puget Sound, Washington Beaches. Estuaries and Coasts 33, 699–711 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-009-9262-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-009-9262-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation