Shoreline Epifauna Community of South Biscayne Bay in Relation to Salinity Presentation at the Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration Meeting July 13-16, 2010

Joan A. Browder, Michael B. Robblee Gladys A. Liehr, Darlene R. Johnson Eric Buck, Tom Jackson, Ana Griefen, Laura Petteway A CERP Objective for Nearshore Biscayne Bay

• To restore the diversity and abundance of the faunal component associated primarily with salinities ranging from near zero to 20 (RECOVER 2005). • Historical descriptions of the fisheries of the bay suggest a greater diversity and abundance of estuarine than has been recorded recently. Alongshore Epifauna Monitoring and Assessment

• Project purpose – To develop a dynamic characterization of the epifaunal community along the shoreline of south Biscayne Bay from Shoal Point to Manatee Bay – To determine salinity affinities (i.e., preferred habitat) of epifaunal species – To develop performance measures and restoration targets to assess the effectiveness of restoration efforts Shoal Pt. Sampling area: 2005-2006 Shoal Point to Turkey Point 2007-2009 Shoal Point to Manatee Bay

Turkey Pt. 2005 – 2006, Sites 1-47

2007 and ongoing, with additional Sites 48-72

Dry (Jan. – Feb.) and Wet Season (July – Aug.)

Manatee Bay Sampling Effort

R.V. Miller

Environmental Data: a) Water and Sediment Depth b) Salinity, DO, pH c) Algae Seagrass Coverage d) bottom type (Braun Blanquet) and canopy height

Faunal data: 3 Throw Traps samples at each site, and 4 Sweeps of each throw trap

Samples kept on ice in the field and frozen for storage

. In the laboratory, samples are sorted and bulk weights taken Then samples are identified, counted, measured, weighed, and preserved in alcohol or formalin for future use.

Special examinations are made to determine sex and other information on selected taxa. Data entry, quality control, master files, and multi-year database

Metadatabase, statistics, reports Sampling sites of the alongshore epifauna project

The 72 sampling sites along the shoreline are numbered from north to south

Designated sub- segments of the coastline and site numbers are delineated.

Note that major canals are concentrated between sites 18-40 Some members of the alongshore epifauna

A. stipes L. parva F. carpio

M. gulosus

O. beta S. scovelli

Caridea

C. sapidus Ophiuriodea

www.sealitsoc.org www.sealifebase.org F. duorarum The Epifauna

FISH CRABS

Hermit crab sp. L. parva

Misc Misc Panopeus sp. M. gulosus C. simillis P. herbstii O. beta G. robustum Callinectes sp. S. scovelli C. sapidus F. carpio A. stipes

SHRIMP ECHINODERMA Caridean shrimp sp.

Ophiuroidea

Alpheus sp.

Misc

H. grisea

F. duorarum S. scovelli Asterozoa sp. Salinity (psu)

0 10 20 30 40 50 0 2 4 6 8 Site 10 12 salinity at 14 sampling 16 18 time 20 22 24 26 28 30 Dry 32 34 season 36 38 collection Site 40 42 44 46 48 Years 50 52 2007, 54 56 2008, and 58 60 2009 62 64 66 68 70 72 Dry 07 74 Dry 08 Dry 09 Salinity (psu)

0 10 20 30 40 50 0 2 4 6 8 Site 10 12 salinity at 14 sampling 16 18 time 20 22 24 26 28 30 Wet 32 34 season 36 38 collection Site 40 42 44 46 48 Years 50 52 2007, 54 56 2008, and 58 60 2009 62 64 66 68 70 72 Wet 07 74 Wet 08 Wet 09 Total # of Individuals counted Total # of Individuals counted Total # of Individuals counted 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

50 50

0 0 0

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13 Canopy height

14

15

16

17

18

19

20 Temperature

21

22

23

Site

24

25 26

Salinity 27

28

29

30

31

32 Fauna

33

34 Fauna

35

36

37

38

39 Fauna

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47 48 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34

Total #Canopy of Individuals height (cm) counted Total # ofTemperature Individuals (C) counted Total # of IndividualsSalinity (psu) counted 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250 2500 2750 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250 2500 2750 W D W D 250 500 750 200 400 600 800 250 500 750 0 0 0 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 Site 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 WET WET DRY WET DRY 72 73 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34

Canopy Height Temperature (C) Salinity (ppt)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Sites 25 26 27 28 29 Rainwater killifish 30 Hardhead silverside 31 Goldspotted killifish 32 Gulf 33 Clown goby 34 Code goby 35 Gulf toadfish 36 Fish Other 37 Hermit crab sp. 38 Blue crab 39 Blue crab sp. 40 Common mud crab 41 Lesser blue crab 42 Mud crab sp. 43 Crabs Other 44 Pink shrimp 45 Caridean shrimp sp. 46 47 Snapping shrimp sp. 48 Brittle star sp. 0 20 40 60 80 100 % species composition 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Salinity (psu) - Temperature (cm) - Canopy height (cm) Initial classification of species by halohabitat

Halohabitat Salinity Number of species 2005 2010 Estuarine < 35 12 Estuarine- ~18-35 1 polyhaline Polyhaline 18-30 2 Polyhaline-non- ~18-40 1 estuarine Non-estuarine >35 33 Other ?? 48

www.fishbase.com Gilmore 1995 Lorenz&Serafy 2006 VENICE System: A system for the classification of brackish water based on the percentage of chloride in the water.

Zone Salinity (ppt)

Hyperhaline >40 Euhaline 40 - 30 Mixohaline ~35 - 0.5 Mixoeuhaline > 30 but < adjacent euhaline sea (Mixo-) polyhaline 30 - 18 (Mixo-) mesohaline 18 - 5 (Mixo-) oligohaline 5 - 0.5 Limnic (freshwater) < 0.5 Box plots of salinity, temperature, and canopy height of sites at sampling time

Mesohaline Polyhaline Euhaline Hyperhalin Wet' 09

Dry' 09

Wet' 08

Dry' 08 Collection Wet' 07

Dry' 07

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Salinity (ppt)

Wet' 09

Dry' 09

Wet' 08

Dry' 08

Collection Wet' 07

Dry' 07

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Temperature (C)

Wet' 09

Dry' 09

Wet' 08

Dry' 08

Wet' 07 Collection Dry' 07

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Canopy Height (cm) 7000 Fish 700 Crab

6000 600

5000 500

4000 400

3000 300

2000 200 # of individuasl counted # of individuasl counted 1000 100

0 0 0-<5 5-<1010-<1515-<2020-<2525-<3030-<3535-<4040-<45 0-<5 5-<1010-<1515-<2020-<2525-<3030-<3535-<4040-<45

Echinoderm 16000 Shrimp 180

14000 160

140 12000 120 10000 100 8000 80 6000 60 4000 40 # of individuasl counted # of individuasl counted

2000 20

0 0 0-<5 5-<1010-<1515-<2020-<2525-<3030-<3535-<4040-<45 0-<5 5-<1010-<1515-<2020-<2525-<3030-<3535-<4040-<45

Salinity Bin Salinity Bin Individual occupancy in relation to salinity - Fish

L. cyprinoides E. melanopterus S. picudilla S.spengleri Belonidae S.scovelli T. maculatus P.latipinna Tetraodontidae Gobiidae L.parva A. lineatus E.gula S.testudineus B.soporator Kyphosidae L.griseus F.carpio H.humeralis Haemulidae M.gulosus A. stipes H. bimaculatus E. havana Gerreidae C. variegatus O. beta H. reidi E. jonesi L. rhomboides Carangidae G. robustum H. sciurus H. erectus S. marina B. dunckeri H. geminatus H. aurolineatum H. histrio Unidentified L. nicholsi S. pelagicus Cyprinodontiformes M. punctatus A. mitchilli S. floridae H. zosterae D. pauciradiatus C. macrops R. marmoratus G. cinereus M. cephalus Red line S. fuscus C. arctifrons A. criniger indicates H. parra H. plumieri Syngnathidae RECOVER Mugilidae Ch.saburrae salinity Sparidae Atherinidae C.macrocerus Mesohaline Polyhaline Euhaline Hyperhaline target Ch. ocellata 5-18 18-30 30-40 <40

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Salinity (ppt) Individual Occupancy in Relation to Salinity – Crab, Shrimp, and Echinoderms

C. similis Crab Panopeidae C. larvatus R. harrisii C. sapidus Callinectes sp. Majidae Portunidae L. emarginata P. herbstii Ocypodidae A. recordi S. furcata Sesarmidae Paguroidea M. subparallelum P. spinicarpus Menippidae C. danae H. hemphillii L. emarginata F. duorarum Shrimp Caridea Alpheidae Asteroidea Echinoderm O. cinereum Red line E. spinulosus O. wurdemani indicates Holothuroidea RECOVER H. grisea salinity target Ophiuroidea

O. reticulates Mesohaline Polyhaline Euhaline Hyperhaline 5-18 18-30 30-40 <40

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Salinity (ppt) Dry '05 Dry '06 Dry '07

Sheepshead Checkered Puffer Pinfish Big Eye Mojarra Silver Jenny Clown Goby Gulf Toadfish Code Goby Gulf Pipefish Hardhead Silverside Goldspotted Killifish Rainwater Killifish

2022 24262830 323436 2022 24262830 323436 2022 24262830 323436 Dry '08 Dry '09 Faunal-density- Sheepshead weighted Checkered Puffer Pinfish salinity, of Bigeye Mojarra dominant Silver Jenny species. Clown Goby Gulf Toadfish Ordinate is Code Goby Gulf Pipefish mean salinity at Harthead Silverside sites 1-47 at Goldspotted time of sampling Rainwater Killifish

20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 20 2224 2628 3032 3436 Dry faunal-density-weighted salinity difference from the mean, by species and year

Bandtail Puffer Bay Anchovy Bigeye Mojarra Bluestriped Grunt Bluethroat Pikeblenny Checkered Puffer Clown Goby Code Goby Crested Blenny Crested Goby Dusky Pipefish Dwarf Seahorse Flagfin Mojarra Florida Blenny Frillfin Goby Fringed Pipefish Goby sp. Goldspotted Killifish Gray Snapper Grunt sp. Gulf Pipefish Gulf Stream Flounder Gulf Toadfish Hardhead Silverside Highfin Blenny Hogchoker Jack sp. Jewel Cichlid Killifish sp. Lined Seahorse Lined Sole Longsnout Seahorse Mangrove Rivulus Mojarra sp. Mullet sp. Needlefish sp. Northern Pipefish Pygmy seahorse Pinfish Pipefish sp. Porgies sp. Puffer sp. Pugnose Pipefish Rainwater Killifish Redear Sardine Sailfin Molly Sailor's Choice Sargassumfish Pipefish Seahorse sp. Sheepshead Minnow Silver Jenny Silverside sp. Slender Mojarra Southern Sennet Speckled Worm Eel Spotted Dragonet Spotted Whiff Striped Mullet Tomtate Unidentified White Grunt Whitespotted Filefish Yellowfin Mojarra Total Fish Atlantic horseshoe Crab Blue Crab Blue Crab sp. Brown-fingered Swimming Crab Common Mud Crab Common Spidercrab Giant Decorationcrab Fiddler Crab sp. Hermit crab Lesser Blue Crab Longspine Swimming Crab Marbled Marsh Crab Marsh Crab sp. Mud crab sp. Spider Crab Spider Crab sp. Sponge Spider Crab Stone Crab sp. Swimming Crab Swimming Crab sp. Total Crab Dry 2005 Caridean shrimp Pink shrimp Dry 2006 Snapping Shrimp Dry 2007 Total Shrimp Brittle Star Dry 2008 Cushion Sea Star Sea Cucumber sp. Dry 2009 Sea Star sp. Total Echinodermata

-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 Salinity difference (psu) Mean faunal-density-weighted salinity, and average salinity across all sites (1-47), for collections in which species was present, 2005-2009

Crested goby Pipefish sp. Bandtail puffer Lined sole Checkered puffer Silver jenny Clown goby Sheepshead minnow Goldspotted killifish Swimming crab sp. Rainwater killifish Gulf pipefish Dusky pipefish Code goby Hardhead silverside Lesser blue crab Blue crab sp. Bigeye mojarra Mud crab sp. Blue crab Cushion sea star Grunt sp. Pinfish Gulf toadfish Pink shrimp Spotted whiff Pugnose pipefish Killifish sp. Mojarra sp. Common mud crab Brittle Star Caridean shrimp Gray Snapper Lined Seahorse Hermit crab Sailfin molly Bluestriped grunt Sponge spider crab Snapping shrimp Dwarf seahorse Sargassum pipefish Spider crab sp. Frillfin goby Fringed pipefish Marsh crab sp.

-8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 20 25 30 Faunal-density-weighted-salinity Mean site salinity Salinity units below and above average across sites Mean faunal-density-weighted salinity, and average salinity across all sites (48-72), for collections in which species was present, 2005-2009

Highfin blenny Bay anchovy Spotted dragonet Snapping shrimp Clown goby Goldspotted killifish Gulf pipefish Code goby Dwarf seahorse Fringed pipefish Blue crab Gulf toadfish Hardhead silverside Mud crab sp. Mojarra sp. Hermit crab Rainwater killifish Killifish sp. Caridean shrimp Bigeye mojarra Gray snapper Pink shrimp Brittle star Pinfish Pipefish sp. Dusky pipefish Checkered puffer Sea star sp. Common spidercrab

-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 27 32 37 Faunal-density-weighted-salinity Mean sites salinity Salinity units below and above average across sites Halodule x Distance canal Multiple- Salinity x Thalassia Distance x mangrove regression Distance to mangrove stations results for nine Distance canal Caridean predator dry season and Seagrass prey nine wet Mangrove predators Clown goby season Code goby species, 2005- Gulf toadfish Mixed algae 2009: Number Thalassia of models in Halodule Canopy height which each Depth variable was Salinity Temperature significant

0 2 4 6 8 10 Number of models Dry season Wet season Salinity relationships in multiple regression models, by species Predicted species density change with salinity increase: decrease (negative) or increase (positive)

Negative Positive Dry season Goldspotted killifish Pink shrimp Rainwater killifish Caridean shrimp Clown goby Blue crab Gulf pipefish Gulf toadfish Species richness Wet season Blue crab Caridean shrimp Rainwater killifish Code goby Clown goby Gulf toadfish Gulf pipefish Initial classification of species by halohabitat

Halohabitat Salinity Number of species 2005 2010 Estuarine < 35 12 3 Estuarine- ~18-<35 1 19 polyhaline Polyhaline 18-30 2 12 Polyhaline-non- ~18->35 1 13 estuarine Non-estuarine >35 33 21 Other ?? 48 27 www.fishbase.com Gilmore 1995 Lorenz&Serafy 2006 Browder et al. 2010 Percent of captured species, coded to halohabitat, by faunal group Percent of captured individuals, coded to halohabitat, by faunal group Percent of species, coded by halohabitat -- separate bars indicate degree of rarity

Species that did not occur in season

Species that only occurred one time

Species that occurred at least 10 times Another look at halohabitat in relation to rarity – separate bars for percent of species of increasing degree of dominance Summary/Conclusions

• Dominant species --polyhaline habitat; rarer species -- non-estuarine (marine) habitat. • Dominant species, sites 1-47 -- polyhaline habitat, consistent with prevailing conditions. • Dominant species, sites 48-72 -- non-estuarine (marine) habitat, consistent with prevailing conditions. • CERP success in implementing of 0-20 (~mesohaline) conditions may radically alter nearshore species composition. • Possible mechanisms for colonization of new mesohaline habitat – Adaptation of species already present (e.g., pink shrimp in mesohaline mangrove zone of southwest Florida) – immigration of new species (e.g., hogchoker and mangrove rivulus). ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This is a RECOVER CERP Monitoring and Assessment Project funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and supported by NOAA Fisheries Service. We thank a myriad of volunteers for helping us with our labor intensive sampling.