Hurricane Effects on Seagrass and Associated Nekton Communities in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

Autor: Correia, Kelly M., Alford, Scott B., Belgrad, Benjamin A., Darnell, Kelly M., Darnell, M. Zachary, Furman, Bradley T., Hall, Margaret O., Hayes, Christian T., Martin, Charles W., McDonald, Ashley, Smee, Delbert L.
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Zdroj: Estuaries & Coasts; Jan2024, Vol. 47 Issue 1, p162-175, 14p
Abstrakt: On 10 October 2018, Hurricane Michael made landfall along the Florida panhandle as a category 5 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 259 km h−1 and storm surge of 4.3 m. To assess impacts on seagrass meadows and nekton communities, we sampled seagrass beds in three estuaries along a gradient of storm intensity: one proximate to the hurricane track (St. George Sound, FL), one that experienced storm surge without hurricane-force winds (Cedar Key, FL), and one outside the storm path (Chandeleur Islands, LA). The nekton community and seagrass characteristics were assessed prior to and shortly after the storm and again 1 year later. In St. George Sound, we observed post-storm changes in seagrass species composition and declines in seagrass cover, shoot count, and canopy height as well as a shift in associated fauna. Seagrass cover declined from 83 ± 9 to 50 ± 8% following the storm. Shoot height and shoot count were also reduced by over 50%. Nekton species most commonly found prior to the storm were Lagodon rhomboides (pinfish), Orthopristis chrysoptera (pigfish), and Bairdiella chrysoura (silver perch). Two weeks following the storm, the most commonly collected species shifted to pinfish, penaeid shrimp, Chilomycterus schoepfi (striped burrfish), and Eucinostomus argenteus (spotfin mojarra). Widespread declines in species-specific nekton abundances were also observed, with continued reductions in some species the following year. Overall, both the seagrass and nekton communities showed signs of recovery. Cedar Key and Chandeleur Islands both exhibited minimal changes in vegetation and nekton. Despite storm intensity and substantial physical damage to upland habitats, the estuarine seagrass communities were resilient to the effects of a powerful category 5 hurricane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index
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