Monitoring salt marsh vegetation and nekton at Sagamore Hill National Historical Site: 2011 summary report
Nicosia EL and Pooler PS. 2012. Monitoring salt marsh vegetation and nekton at Sagamore Hill National Historical Site: 2011 summary report. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NCBN/NRDS—2012/398. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network (NCBN) began monitoring salt marsh vegetation and nekton at Sagamore Hill National Historical Site (SAHI) in 2009. This report summarizes the second year of data collected during the summer of 2011. Monitoring will continue on a biennial basis. Fifty vegetation plots were sampled on August 8, 2011. The percent cover of each vegetation species and non-vegetation cover type within each 1 m2 plot was visually estimated using a revised Braun-Blanquet method. Eleven vegetation species and four non-vegetation cover types (bare ground, wrack & litter, trash, and water) were observed. Fifteen nekton stations were established along Eel Creek in 2011. Each station was sampled using a 1m2 aluminum throw trap. Nekton sampling occurred twice during the summer (July 7 and August 8). Four species of nekton (Fundulus heteroclitus, common mummichog; Menidia menida, Atlantic silverside; Palaemonetes pugio, daggerblade grass shrimp; and Callinectes sapidus, blue crab) were recorded. Examination of percent catch data indicates that F. heteroclitus (51%) and P. pugio (38%) account for approximately 89% of all nekton captured at SAHI in 2011.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Nicosia, Erika; Pooler, Penelope
- Date of Issue
- 2012-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- NCBN , NRSS , SAHI
- Keywords
- 2011, Braun-Blanquet method, ditch nets, I&M, inventory and monitoring program, Monitoring, NCBN, Nekton, Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network, Sagamore Hill National Historical Site, SAHI, Salt Marsh, throw trap, Vegetation, Vital Signs