Epibenthic fish communities on Florida Bay banks: Relations with physical parameters and seagrass cover
Sogard SM, Powell GV, Holmquist JG. 1987. Epibenthic fish communities on Florida Bay banks: Relations with physical parameters and seagrass cover. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 40:25-39
Epibenthic fish communities residing in seagrass beds on shallow (<0.5m) mudbanks in Florida Bay, USA, were quantitatively sampled with a throw trap method. The overall average density of 11 fish m was substantially higher than most previously reported densities for seagrass habitats. Four sites, representing 4 different subenvironments of Florida Bay, differed widely in species composition and densities of individual species; results of discriminant function analysis indicated that fish communities at the 4 sites were relatively distinct. Species composition at different sites is proposed to be a result of complex interactions between the deterministic influence of habitat quality and the stochastic influence of larval availability. Restricted water circulation, effeced by the network of banks, and different sources of water mass exchange are proposed as constraints on larval availability. Differences in species richness and fish densities across individual banks corresponded to gradients in depth, sediment structure, detrital loads, and various measures of seagrass structural complexity. The greater physical stress on top of a bank appeared to limit species richness, while fish densities across individual banks were regulated by habitat gradients. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the standing crop of seagrasses and the accumulation of vegetation litter were important determinants of fish densities; physical factors, such as depth and sediment structure, were also influential. Abstract given by author.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Sogard, Susan; Powell, George; Holmquist, Jeff
- Units
- BISC
- Keywords
- Buchanan Key, Carbonate mudbanks, Cowpens Keys, Eagle Key, Ecosystem, epibenthic fish, Estuary, fish density, Florida Bay, Oyster Keys, Salinity, Seagrass, Seagrass biomass, Seagrass canopy, Seagrass habitats, Species Composition, Throw trap method, tidal range