Environmental variables of northern California lagoons and estuaries and the distribution of tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi)
Chamberlain CD. 2006. Environmental variables of northern California lagoons and estuaries and the distribution of tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi). Arcata Fisheries Technical Report TR 2006-04. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office, Arcata Fisheries. Arcata, CA
Author's abstract: "Northern California lagoon and estuary habitats were sampled in summer and early fall 1996 and 1997 to describe the relation of microhabitat variables to the distribution of tidewater goby. Twenty of the then twenty-one historically known locations for the species north of San Francisco Bay were sampled. Presence of tidewater goby was re-confirmed at 12 of the 20 sites visited. Little correlation was found between presence or absence of tidewater goby and point measurements of salinity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH vegetation and substrate. Relatively high catch rates of tidewater gobies occurred at some sites characterized as having environmental conditions outside the range of those reported as optimal in the literature. For example, this study found tidewater goby in water with dissolved oxygen concentrations less than 1 mg/l at Rodeo Lagoon, salinities less than 5 ppt at Lake Earl, Davis Lake, and Salmon Creek; and hyper-saline water as high as 37.9 ppt in the upper portion of Estero Americano. Infrequent but occasional connectivity to tidal fluctuation appeared to increase the likelihood of encountering tidewater goby, regardless of water quality and habitat conditions encountered in these predominantly tidally-isolated waters. This suggests that descriptive measures of physical characteristics like substrate and vegetation and point measurements of water quality provide limited insight to a water body's suitability for tidewater goby. Rather than indicate inherent habitat preferences for the species, the range of physical and water quality parameters associated with tidewater goby presence reported in much of the existing literature may simply reflect an underlying distribution of these variables in waters that have a breaching or connectivity regime that supports tidewater goby. I suggest that tidewater goby habitat needs would be more accurately described by descriptions of breaching regime, volumetric exchange, and frequency of connectivity to marine-source waters."
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Chamberlain, Charles
- Date of Issue
- 2006
- Publisher
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office, Arcata Fisheries
- Units
- REDW
- Keywords
- Absence (Biodiversity), breaching regime, Distribution, environmental variables, estuarine habitat, Eucyclogobius newberryi (tidewater goby), Freshwater Lagoon, Habitat, Habitat Suitability, Hydrochemistry, Marine Ecology, marine water, Northern California, Population, Redwood Creek Estuary, Survey, Taxa Links To References, volumetric exchange, Water Chemistry, Water Quality