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Seasonal Variation in Nekton Assemblages in Tidal and Nontidal Tributaries in a Barrier Island Lagoon System

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Abstract

Fish communities in tidal tributaries have received considerable attention, but the relative value of nontidal tributaries (having a tidal amplitude of < 5 cm) may represent an under-valued habitat. A multi-gear sampling approach was used to collect fish and macroinvertebrates from one tidal and two nontidal tributaries to describe and compare the respective nekton communities and habitat use patterns. Nekton communities in tidal and nontidal tributaries were markedly different even though habitats were similar (e.g., temperature, DO, depths, shoreline vegetation). While catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) of estuarine-dependent species (e.g., red drum, spot, common snook) was lower in nontidal tributaries, the overall nekton CPUE was twice that of the tidal tributary, and the community was comprised mostly of freshwater marsh species (e.g., eastern mosquitofish, sailfin molly, bluefin killifish). Based on the life histories of the fishes that differed between tributary types, the proximity of coastal inlets and availability of effective larval transport mechanisms for estuarine-dependent species may be greater determinants of community differences than factors related to tributary size or shoreline habitat type. These results recognize smaller nontidal tributaries as undervalued nursery habitats and suggest the function as secondary nursery habitats is a critical service to the overall estuarine community.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the staff of the FWRI Melbourne Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory for their assistance and logistic support that made this study possible. We greatly appreciate the efforts of staff from the FWRI Indian River Laboratory for their assistance in the field, with special thanks to S. Landers for data entry support and Ted Switzer for statistical advice. We thank M. Clark, B. Crowder, D. Gandy, G. Huston, P. Stevens, B. Yeiser, and three anonymous reviewers for providing useful editorial comments that improved this manuscript. This study was supported in part by Florida’s State Wildlife Grants Program of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and in part by recreational fishing license funding.

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  1. Jynessa Dutka-Gianelli

    Present address: School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Program, University of Florida, 7922 NW 71st Street, Gainesville, FL, 32653, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Indian River Field Laboratory, 1220 Prospect Avenue, Suite 285, Melbourne, FL, 32901, USA

    Richard Paperno, Jynessa Dutka-Gianelli & Derek Tremain

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Appendix

Appendix

Table 1 Summary of species collected during northern Indian River Lagoon tributary sampling, July 2007–June 2009. Effort, or the total number of hauls, is labeled N and represents the pooled effort regardless of sampling method. Taxa are arranged alphabetically. Exotic taxa are denoted with *; Macroinvertebrates are denoted with **
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Table 2 Results of permutational analysis of variance and post hoc pairwise comparisons of community composition between tributary type (tidal; nontidal) and season (wet; dry) as determined through the 21.3-m seine efforts
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Table 3 Results of permutational analysis of variance and post hoc pairwise comparisons of community composition between tributary type (tidal; nontidal) and season (wet; dry) as determined through the 61-m seine efforts
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Table 4 Results of permutational analysis of variance and post hoc pairwise comparisons of community composition between tributary type (tidal; nontidal) and season (wet; dry) as determined through the electrofishing efforts. NS = not significant
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Paperno, R., Dutka-Gianelli, J. & Tremain, D. Seasonal Variation in Nekton Assemblages in Tidal and Nontidal Tributaries in a Barrier Island Lagoon System. Estuaries and Coasts 41, 1821–1833 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-018-0389-4

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