Abstract
AbstractWe examined the effects of wind‐driven sediment resuspension on the stomach fullness, prey composition, and caloric intake of Bay Anchovy Anchoa mitchilli, a particulate planktivore, and age‐0 Atlantic Croaker Micropogonias undulatus, a benthic omnivore, in Mobile Bay, Alabama. Mobile Bay is a shallow estuary in the northern Gulf of Mexico with substrates ranging from silt to small sand. High‐wind events were associated with cold fronts and were characterized by wind velocities ≥4.0 m/s. Bay Anchovy stomachs were less full during such events and gut contents contained greater contributions by low‐calorie items. Atlantic Croaker stomach fullness did not differ significantly with wind speed. However, prey composition during high‐wind events shifted toward high‐calorie items. These scenarios imply that high‐wind events in Mobile Bay could have an adverse effect on energy uptake by resident Bay Anchovy but may benefit energy uptake by Atlantic Croaker.Received December 14, 2012; accepted March 23, 2013
Highlights
Several factors can cause short-term changes in estuarine environments and have effects on resident organisms
Adult Bay Anchovy and juvenile Atlantic Croaker were collected over muddy substrate in southwestern Mobile Bay (Figure 1) during twice-weekly cruises in a 6.5-m outboard motor boat from 28 February to 25 March 2002, a time of frequent cold front passage
Three cold fronts passed over Mobile Bay during this study
Summary
Several factors can cause short-term changes in estuarine environments and have effects on resident organisms. Tidal currents in most estuaries are the primary source of energy and are responsible for most short-term variations in temperature, salinity, and other habitat characteristics. Microtidal estuaries such as those common in the northern Gulf of Mexico experience relatively low tidal currents. These habitats depend greatly upon wind events for energy input and water column mixing (Demers et al 1987; Reed 1989; Arfi et al 1993; Brooks and Doyle 1998; Perez et al 2000; Chen and Valle-Levinson 2009). While a few studies have examined the relationship between wind events and production among benthic and planktonic organisms (Frechette and Grant 1991; McKinnon and Ayukai 1996; Smaal and Haas 1997; Lawrence et al 2004), the influence of high-velocity wind on the diets and potential growth of estuarine fishes (Boisclair and Leggett 1989a, 1989b; Hewett and Kraft 1993) has been largely neglected, the effects of turbidity on feeding by larval and juvenile fish has been studied both in laboratory and field settings (Auld and Schubel 1978; Cyrus and Blaber 1987a, 1987b; Grecay and Targett 1996; Abrahams and Kattenfeld 1997; Fiksen et al 2002; Gadomski and Parsley 2005; Meager et al 2005)
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