Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network Salt Marsh Nekton Monitoring
Northeast Coastal and Barrier Inventory & Monitoring Network. Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network Salt Marsh Nekton Monitoring. 2003. National Park Service
Nekton are free-swimming fishes and crustaceans that are vital signs of salt marsh health, along with tidal wetland elevation and vegetation. Abundant and integral to the ecosystem food web, nekton tell us about primary producers, consumers, top predators, and estuarine change. Water nutrient enrichment, for instance, is a “bottom-up” change that causes harmful algae blooms, which impact nekton nursery grounds. A decrease in nekton populations then affects birds, economically valuable fish, and marine mammals that feed on nekton. Conversely, a “top-down” decline of predatory fish from over-fishing, for example, could mean excessive nekton populations. Both types of change alter the balance, or equilibrium, of salt marsh and estuarine ecosystems. The Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network monitored nekton from 2009 to 2021. In that time, our data revealed long-term trends in nekton species composition and abundance. With what we learned, we were able to evaluate the dynamic natural and human-induced changes to salt marsh nekton communities. How We Monitor 1) Set up sampling locations in the marsh (include areas like marsh pools, creeks, ditches, and shorelines) 2) Collect samples during low tides, when marsh surface has drained 3) If sampling location is in a pool, use a throw trap to collect samples. If sampling location is in a ditch, use a ditch net. If both a pool and ditch are present, use the throw trap and ditch net 4) Repeat sampling once in early summer (June to July) and once in late summer to early fall (August to October). Collect samples from each park every two years
- Type
- Project
- Authors
- Northeast Coastal and Barrier Inventory & Monitoring Network
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- ASIS , CACO , COLO , FIIS , GATE , GEWA , NCBN , SAHI
- Keywords
- Crabs, Fish, Invertebrates, mekton, Monitoring, Plants, Salt Marsh, Shrimp, Vegetation
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Intertidal Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Estuarine Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Marine Invertebrates , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Fishes , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Vegetation Complex
Program
Products
- Salt marsh vegetation and nekton community monitoring at Assateague Island National Seashore: 2008 summary report
- Salt marsh vegetation monitoring at Colonial National Historical Park: 2008 summary report
- Salt marsh vegetation and nekton community monitoring at Sagamore Hill National Historical Site: 2009 summary report
- Salt marsh vegetation and nekton community monitoring at Fire Island National Seashore: 2009 summary report
- Salt marsh vegetation and nekton community monitoring at George Washington Birthplace National Monument: 2008 summary report
- Salt marsh vegetation and nekton community monitoring at George Washington Birthplace National Monument: 2010 summary report
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation and nekton at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Unit: 2010 summary report
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation and nekton at Assateague Island National Seashore: 2010 summary report
- Salt marsh vegetation and nekton community monitoring at William Floyd Estate, Fire Island National Seashore: 2009 summary report
- Cape Cod NS Saltmarsh Monitoring Database
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation and nekton at Fire Island National Seashore: 2011 summary report
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation and nekton at Sagamore Hill National Historical Site: 2011 summary report
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation and nekton at William Floyd Estate, Fire Island National Seashore: 2011 summary report
- Salt Marsh Nekton Monitoring at Assateague Island National Seashore
- Salt Marsh Nekton Monitoring at George Washington Birthplace National Monument
- Salt Marsh Nekton Monitoring in the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation at George Washington Birthplace National Monument: 2012 summary report
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation at Colonial National Historical Park: 2012 summary report
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation and nekton at Assateague Island National Seashore: 2012 summary report
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation and nekton at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Unit: 2012 summary report
- Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network Salt Marsh Vegetation Monitoring Protocol Development Summary
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation and nekton at Assateague Island National Seashore: 2014 summary report
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation at Colonial National Historical Park: 2014 summary report
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Unit: 2014 summary report
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation and nekton at Fire Island National Seashore and the William Floyd Estate: 2015 summary report
- Monitoring salt marsh vegetation and nekton at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site: 2015 summary report
- NCBN Saltmarsh Vegetation and Nekton Monitoring Database
- Monitoring nekton in salt marshes: A protocol for the National Park Service’s long-term monitoring program, Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network