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Tropicalization of the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Impacts of Salt Marsh Transition to Black Mangrove Dominance on Faunal Communities

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Abstract

The tropically associated black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) is expanding into salt marshes of the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM). This species has colonized temperate systems dominated by smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) in Texas, Louisiana, Florida and, most recently, Mississippi. To date, little is known about the habitat value of black mangroves for juvenile fish and invertebrates. Here we compare benthic epifauna, infauna, and nekton use of Spartina-dominated, Avicennia-dominated, and mixed Spartina and black mangrove habitats in two areas with varying densities and ages of black mangroves. Faunal samples and sediment cores were collected monthly from April to October in 2012 and 2013 from Horn Island, MS, and twice yearly in the Chandeleur Islands, LA. Multivariate analysis suggested benthic epifauna communities differed significantly between study location and among habitat types, with a significant interaction between the two fixed factors. Differences in mangrove and marsh community composition were greater at the Chandeleurs than at Horn Island, perhaps because of the distinct mangrove/marsh ecotone and the high density and age of mangroves there. Infaunal abundances were significantly higher at Horn Island, with tanaids acting as the main driver of differences between study locations. We predict that if black mangroves continue to increase in abundance in the northern GOM, estuarine faunal community composition could shift substantially because black mangroves typically colonize shorelines at higher elevations than smooth cordgrass, resulting in habitats of differing complexity and flooding duration.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for funding the majority of the field portion of this project, especially Patric Harper, who provided field help and financial support throughout this study (contract no. F11AC01390). Thanks to the Science and Resource Management Division at the National Park Service’s Gulf Islands National Seashore for providing assistance and additional resources for completing fieldwork. We would like to acknowledge Dorothy Byron, Kristen Dahl, and Josh Goff for their help and expertise in creating GIS field maps.

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Author notes

  1. Whitney A. Scheffel

    Present address: Soil and Water Sciences Department, University of Florida, 1692 McCarty Dr., Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Blvd, Dauphin Island, AL, 36528, USA

    Whitney A. Scheffel & Kenneth L. Heck Jr.

  2. Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama, 5871 USA Drive North, Mobile, AL, 36668, USA

    Kenneth L. Heck Jr.

  3. National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Protected Resources and Biodiversity Division, 75 Virginia Beach Dr., Miami, FL, 33149, USA

    Matthew W. Johnson

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  1. Whitney A. Scheffel
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  2. Kenneth L. Heck Jr.
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Correspondence to Whitney A. Scheffel.

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Communicated by Mark J. Brush

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Scheffel, W.A., Heck, K.L. & Johnson, M.W. Tropicalization of the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Impacts of Salt Marsh Transition to Black Mangrove Dominance on Faunal Communities. Estuaries and Coasts 41, 1193–1205 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-017-0334-y

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