Juvenile Winter Flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) and Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) Utilization of Southern New England Nurseries: Comparisons Among Estuarine, Tidal River, and Coastal Lagoon Shallow-Water Habitats
| Autor: | David L. Taylor, Carissa L. Gervasi, Jason McNamee, John Lake, Danial G. Palance |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
geography geography.geographical_feature_category 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Ecology biology 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology Paralichthys dentatus Estuary Flounder Aquatic Science biology.organism_classification 01 natural sciences Predation Fishery Pseudopleuronectes Winter flounder Juvenile Bay Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
| Zdroj: | Estuaries and Coasts. 39:1505-1525 |
| ISSN: | 1559-2731 1559-2723 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s12237-016-0089-x |
| Popis: | This study evaluated the relative importance of the Narragansett Bay estuary (RI and MA, USA), and associated tidal rivers and coastal lagoons, as nurseries for juvenile winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, and summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus. Winter flounder (WF) and summer flounder (SF) abundance and growth were measured from May to October (2009–2013) and served as indicators for the use and quality of shallow-water habitats (water depth 25 °C). Flounder habitat usage was also positively related to sediment organic content, which may be due to these substrates having sufficiently high prey densities. WF growth rates (mean = 0.25 ± 0.14 mm/day) were negatively correlated with the abundance of conspecifics, whereas SF growth (mean = 1.39 ± 0.46 mm/day) was positively related to temperature and salinity. Also, contrary to expectations, flounder occupied habitats that offered no ostensible advantage in intraspecific growth rates. WF and SF exposed to low salinities in certain rivers likely experienced increased osmoregulatory costs, thereby reducing energy for somatic growth. Low-salinity habitats, however, may benefit flounder by providing refugia from predation or reduced competition with other estuarine fishes and macroinvertebrates. Examining WF and SF abundance and growth across each species’ broader geographic distribution revealed that southern New England habitats may constitute functionally significant nurseries. These results also indicated that juvenile SF have a geographic range extending further north than previously recognized. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|
Full text from SpringerLink