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INFLUENCE OF FRESHWATER INFLOW AND WATER MANAGEMENT ON OYSTER-REEF RESIDENT ORGANISMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION.
Citation:
Tolley, S. G., A. K. Volety, AND J T. Winstead. INFLUENCE OF FRESHWATER INFLOW AND WATER MANAGEMENT ON OYSTER-REEF RESIDENT ORGANISMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION. Presented at International Workshop on Restoration of Benthic Invertebrate Populations: Genetics, Diseases & Ecology, Coquimbo, Chile, Nov 9-12, 2002.
Description:
Two sources of seasonal programming are at work in southwest Florida estuaries: variation in temperature and variation in rainfall and water release resulting in downstream variations in salinity. Since more significant correlations were detected between salinity and metrics than between water temperature and metrics, seasonal programming at the community level may be driven as much by salinity as it is by temperature. Seasonal and spatial trends in metrics related to oyster-reef communities reflect this variability. Abundance and density of fishes and decapod crustaceans exhibited significant seasonal variation and in general were higher during the wet season when water temperatures were relatively high. This seasonal variation can be explained in terms of both temperature and salinity: abundance and density were positively correlated with water temperature and negatively correlated with salinity. Both abundance and density were higher upstream. Total biomass varied seasonally and was positively correlated with water temperature. Biodiversity varied both seasonally and spatially with species diversity being related more to salinity and richness being related to water temperature. These metrics all suggested significantly higher biodiversity downstream. The diverging trajectories that resulted when comparing biodiversity measures from the downstream site with those upstream most likely reflect the influence of a severe drought early on in the project. During the drought, when salinities at all sites were relatively high and little spatial variation was present, diversity and species richness were similar among sites. Only after the commencement of the wet season and the appearance of a more normal dry season the following winter did these metrics begin to diverge among sites. These results suggest the importance of assessing the influence of water quality on oyster-reef associated organisms in addition to oyster health when coordinating restoration efforts and water management practices.