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This article was downloaded by: [Department Of Fisheries] On: 25 November 2013, At: 22:50 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Transactions of the American Fisheries Society Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/utaf20 Fish Assemblages in the Oligohaline Stretch of a Southwest Florida River during Periods of Extreme Freshwater Inflow Variation Philip W. Stevens a , Marin F. D. Greenwood b c & David A. Blewett a a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Charlotte Harbor Field Laboratory , 585 Prineville Street , Port Charlotte , Florida , 33954 , USA b Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute , 100 8th Avenue Southeast , St. Petersburg , Florida , 33701 , USA c ICF International , 630 K Street, Sacramento , California , 95814 , USA Published online: 20 Nov 2013. To cite this article: Philip W. Stevens , Marin F. D. Greenwood & David A. Blewett (2013) Fish Assemblages in the Oligohaline Stretch of a Southwest Florida River during Periods of Extreme Freshwater Inflow Variation, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 142:6, 1644-1658, DOI: 10.1080/00028487.2013.824920 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00028487.2013.824920 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 142:1644–1658, 2013 C American Fisheries Society 2013 ISSN: 0002-8487 print / 1548-8659 online DOI: 10.1080/00028487.2013.824920 ARTICLE Fish Assemblages in the Oligohaline Stretch of a Southwest Florida River during Periods of Extreme Freshwater Inflow Variation Philip W. Stevens* Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Charlotte Harbor Field Laboratory, 585 Prineville Street, Port Charlotte, Florida 33954, USA Marin F. D. Greenwood1 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, 100 8th Avenue Southeast, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, USA David A. Blewett Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Charlotte Harbor Field Laboratory, 585 Prineville Street, Port Charlotte, Florida 33954, USA Abstract Maintenance or restoration of the oligohaline stretch (i.e., salinity 0.5–5 psu) of coastal rivers is becoming an increasingly important goal of water managers striving to balance human consumption of water with the ecological integrity of estuaries. The objectives of this study were to compare fish assemblage structure and species abundance of the oligohaline stretch to those of the lower river mouth during periods of varying freshwater inflow (wet and dry periods) in one of southwest Florida’s largest rivers, the Peace River. The abundance of several estuarine residents and estuarine transients captured in 21.3-m seines—Sand Seatrout Cynoscion arenarius, Tidewater Mojarra Eucinostomus harengulus, Red Drum Sciaenops ocellatus, and Spot Leiostomus xanthurus—were similar between river sections, which is consistent with the premise that the oligohaline stretch is an extension of the juvenile habitat known to be important for fish in lower rivers. Estuarine residents known to have affinities for marsh habitat—Eastern Mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki, Rainwater Killifish Lucania parva, and Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna—were at least an order of magnitude more abundant in the oligohaline stretch, probably the result of greater production at low salinity, greater marsh area, or less competition. During a dry period, the oligohaline fish assemblage became more similar to the assemblage of the lower river mouth. Reductions in the abundance of species characteristic of the oligohaline stretch were offset by increases in the abundance of Bay Anchovy Anchoa mitchilli. This study provides Downloaded by [Department Of Fisheries] at 22:50 25 November 2013 information to managers that can be used in the restoration of oligohaline waters by identifying characteristic fishes in the oligohaline stretch of a large river, providing insight into how this river section functions as fish habitat, and determining the changes in fish assemblages that occur during low freshwater inflow conditions. The oligohaline zone of an estuary is the region where increase exponentially in this salinity range, resulting in unique freshwater first meets and starts to mix with the saline water physical, chemical, and biological processes (Deaton and of the ocean; it is defined as water having a salinity of 0.5–5.0 Greenberg 1986). For example, freshwater diatoms that have psu (Anonymous 1958). Ion ratios of the water (e.g., Ca:Na) depleted silica in the water, a limiting nutrient for diatom *Corresponding author: [email protected] 1Present address: ICF International, 630 K Street, Sacramento, California 95814, USA. Received November 15, 2012; accepted July 9, 2013 1644 FISH ASSEMBLAGES OF AN OLIGOHALINE RIVER STRETCH 1645 growth, are lysed as they enter higher-salinity water down- and scientists (Ogden et al. 2005). Restoring the oligohaline stream, a process that accelerates remineralization of silica zone and the fish assemblages that inhabit the areas between in the estuary (Anderson 1986). Watershed-derived inorganic freshwater and coastal mangroves of the Florida Everglades is nitrogen is rapidly processed where a river first meets the a primary goal of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration estuary, which affects denitrification rates and the availability Plan (Davis et al. 2005). In river systems, the position of low- of nitrogen to estuarine organisms downstream (Holmes salinity water is used as a gauge for meeting the state of Florida’s et al. 2000; Hughes et al. 2000; Merrill and Cornwell 2002). mandates for minimum flows and water levels in several south- Vegetation communities in the lower-salinity reaches of an west Florida river systems, such as the Caloosahatchee, Hills- estuarine river are distinct from those of other sections (Latham borough, Myakka, and Peace rivers (SFWMD 2010a, 2010b). et al. 1994; Visser et al. 1998). Fish diversity is generally low The premise is that maintenance or restoration of the oligoha- at salinities approaching zero, but diversity increases markedly line zone will ensure that ecologically meaningful isohalines as freshwater, estuarine, and marine species overlap (Whitfield are produced downstream, promoting the general health of es- et al. 2012). Similarly, fish assemblage structure changes tuarine habitats such as oyster reefs and seagrass beds. Even rapidly between salinities of 0.1 and 1 psu, in contrast to the though the position of the oligohaline zone is increasingly used gradual change along the remainder of the estuarine salinity as a management target, recent river-specific studies that char- gradient (Greenwood 2007). This rapid change is probably a acterize oligohaline fish assemblages are few (but see Catalano result of changes in river morphology and vegetation (Stevens et al. 2006; Greenwood et al. 2007; Rehage and Loftus 2007; et al. 2010) and of significant changes in ionic ratios, to which Stevens et al. 2010). The purpose of this study was to evaluate many fishes are not well adapted (Deaton and Greenberg 1986). differences between fish assemblages of the oligohaline stretch The oligohaline zone is an extension of habitat for various (the section of river where low salinity water most often occurs) estuarine fish guilds (estuarine-use functional guilds are similar and the lower river mouth during periods of varying freshwa- to those described in Elliott et al. 2007). Several estuarine ter inflow (wet and dry periods) in one of southwest Florida’s residents (those species that can complete their life cycle within largest rivers, the Peace River. By comparing fish assemblages in the estuary) and estuarine transients (those species that spawn these two river sections, hypotheses regarding the structure and offshore and enter estuaries in large numbers, particularly function of oligohaline fish assemblages can be tested. Specifi- as juveniles), such as juvenile Spot Leiostomus xanthurus, cally, based on the literature presented above, we