Shallow water as a refuge habitat for fish and crustaceans in non-vegetated estuaries: an example from Chesapeake Bay

Abundances and size-frequency distributions of common epibenthic fish and crustaceans were compared among 3 depth zones (1–35, 35–70, 71–95 cm) of the Rhode River, a subestuary of Chesapeake Bay, USA. In the absence of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), inter-and intraspecific size segregation occu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine ecology. Progress series (Halstenbek) 1993, Vol.99 (1/2), p.1-16
Main Authors: Ruiz, Gregory M., Hines, Anson H., Posey, Martin H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Brackish
Crabs
Crustacea
Cylinders
Estuaries
Marine
Pisces
Predators
Shallow water
Shrimp
Species
Wetland ecology
Wildlife habitats
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abundances and size-frequency distributions of common epibenthic fish and crustaceans were compared among 3 depth zones (1–35, 35–70, 71–95 cm) of the Rhode River, a subestuary of Chesapeake Bay, USA. In the absence of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), inter-and intraspecific size segregation occurred by depth from May to October, 1989–1992. Small species (Palaemonetes pugio, Crangon septemspinosa, Fundulus heteroclitus, F. majalis, Rhithropanopeus harrisii, Apeltes quadracus, Gobiosoma bosci) were most abundant at water depth < 70 cm. Furthermore, the proportion of small individuals decreased significantly with depth for 7 of 8 species, with C. septemspinosa being the exception, exhibiting no size change with increasing depth. These distributional patterns were related to depth-dependent predation risk. Large species (Callinectes sapidus, Leiostomus xanthurus, and Micropogonias undulatus), known predators of some of the small species, were often most abundant in deep water (> 70 cm). In field experiments, mortality of tethered P. pugio (30 to 35 mm), small F. heteroclitus (40 to 50 mm), and small C. sapidus (30 to 70 mm) increased significantly with depth. We hypothesize that predation risk was size-dependent, creating the observed intra- and interspecific size differences among depth zones. For C. septemspinosa, burial may modify this size-dependency and create the unusual absence of intraspecific size increase with depth. Historically, P. pugio and Fundulus spp. (and other small species) were not restricted to shallow (
ISSN:0171-8630
1616-1599
DOI:10.3354/meps099001