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USE OF OYSTER HABITAT BY REEF-RESIDENT FISHES AND DECAPOD CRUSTACEANS IN THE CALOOSAHATCHEE ESTUARY, FLORIDA
Citation:
Tolley, S. G., A. K. Volety, E. C. Lindland, AND J T. Winstead. USE OF OYSTER HABITAT BY REEF-RESIDENT FISHES AND DECAPOD CRUSTACEANS IN THE CALOOSAHATCHEE ESTUARY, FLORIDA. Presented at 94th Annual Meeting of the National Shellfisheries Association, Mystic , CT, April 14-18, 2002.
Description:
Habitat suitability of oyster reefs for fishes and decapod crustaceans was examined monthly at three sites in the lower Caloosahatchee Estuary. At each site, 1-m2 lift nets containing approximately 5 liters (volume displacement) of oyster clumps were deployed for a period of two weeks. Fishes and decapods sampled averaged 94 individuals m-2 or 23 individuals 1-1 oyster cluster. Nine species of decapods and 18 species of fishes were identified: reef-resident fishes included Gobiesox strumosus, Chasmodes saburrae, Gobiosoma robustum, and Opsanus beta; the xanthid Eurypanopeus depressus and the porcellanid Petrolisthes armatus represented the dominant decapod crustaceans. Organism abundance ranged from 30-197 individuals m-2, density ranged from 5.2-63.3 individuals 1-1 oysters, species diversity (H') ranged from
0.05-1.75, species richness ranged from 4-11 species per sample, and species dominance ranged from 24.8-97.7%. Species diversity, species dominance, and organism abundance all differed significantly among stations. Among-station difference in organism density (individuals 1-1 oyster cluster) were found for the fishes Chasmodes saburrae, Gobiesox strumosus, and Opsanus beta, and for the crabs Durypanopeus depressus, Menippe mercenaria, Panopeus sp., and Petrolisthes armatus. Of these only E. depressus exhibited significant seasonal variation in density (Kruskal-Wallis test: n = 79, p = 0.00007), being more abundant during the warmer months.