Decapod and stomatopod assemblages on a system of seagrass-covered mud banks in Florida Bay

Holmquist, Jeff; Powell, George; Sogard, Susan

The latticework of seagrass-covered mud banks in Florida Bay (Everglades National Park), divides the bay into distinct sub-environments and support a robust seagrass community subject to pronounced physical stress. Throw-trap sampling of decapods and stomatopods during 1984 and 1985 (December-April, May-August and September-November of each year) showed that bank sides exposed to turbulence had low abundance but similar species richness to that of bank tops and sheltered sides. The fauna was more Gulf-Carolinean than Antillean. The crustacean communities of the different sub-environments, however, were distinct, with both Antillean and temperate assemblages represented. The two sub-environments adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico had the greatest densities. Multiple-regression techniques suggested that physical factors played a more important role than vegetational characteristics. It was hypothesized that restricted circulation, juxtaposed faunal provinces, and the wider salinity range of the isolated regions of the bay were responsible for the different communities of the sub-environments. Study Period: Two years (1984-85); Study Type: Qualitative, quantitative; Gear Type: 1 m2 throw-trap; Number of Stations: 4; Temporal Frequency: Three sampling periods per year (dry, wet, wet seasons); Number of Replicates: Six samples along each of three 70-m transects at each site; Habitat: Mud banks; Biological Component: Decapod crustaceans, stomatopods, vegetation; Abiotic Parameters Measured: Salinity, temperature, depth, tides, sediment characteristics; Dominant Taxon/Taxa: Hippolytidae, Palaemonidae.

Decapod and stomatopod assemblages on a system of seagrass-covered mud banks in Florida Bay

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