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Connectivity Among Salt Marsh Subhabitats: Residency and Movements of the Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus)

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Abstract

We examined connectivity among marsh subhabitats to determine the structural limits and important components of a polyhaline salt marsh by studying the patterns of abundance, residency, and movement of a numerically and ecologically dominant nektonic fish (mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus). We captured, tagged (n = 14,040 individuals, 30–110 mm), and recaptured from Feb 2001 to Jul 2002, although most recaptures (75–95% by tagging location) occurred within 150 days. Seasonal residency and movements were common among most subhabitats based on catch per unit effort and recapture per unit effort. Thus, these (marsh pools, intertidal and subtidal creeks, and marsh surface) should be considered natural subhabitats within New England type salt marshes. Further, all these subhabitat types should be included in studies of salt marsh nekton and marsh restoration and creation activities.

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Acknowledgments

All techniques used in this study were conducted under Rutgers University Animal Use Protocol no. 88–042. Numerous individuals from the Rutgers University Marine Field Station (RUMFS) assisted in the tagging and recapture over several seasons. Karen Hunter helped with the data compilation and analysis. Two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments on an earlier draft. This study was supported by RUMFS and is Rutgers University Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences Contribution no. 2012-2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Field Station, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 800 Great Bay Boulevard, Tuckerton, NJ, 08087, USA

    Kenneth W. Able, Gina Petruzzelli & Stacy M. Hagan

  2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL, 32561, USA

    Deborah N. Vivian

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  1. Kenneth W. Able
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  2. Deborah N. Vivian
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  3. Gina Petruzzelli
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  4. Stacy M. Hagan
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Correspondence to Kenneth W. Able.

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Stacy M. Hagan is posthumous

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Able, K.W., Vivian, D.N., Petruzzelli, G. et al. Connectivity Among Salt Marsh Subhabitats: Residency and Movements of the Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus). Estuaries and Coasts 35, 743–753 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-011-9471-x

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