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USEPA RESEARCH ON FISH - HABITAT RELATIONSHIPS IN GREAT LAKES COASTAL MARSHES
Citation:
Trebitz, A S., J. C. Brazner, AND D K. Tanner. USEPA RESEARCH ON FISH - HABITAT RELATIONSHIPS IN GREAT LAKES COASTAL MARSHES. Presented at Society of Conservation Biology Annual Meeting, Duluth, MN, June 28-July 3, 2003.
Description:
Despite numerous studies documenting fish use of particular habitat elements, the role of habitat mosaics in supporting wetland fishes is poorly understood. USEPA's Mid-Continent Ecology Division has initiated research to identify relationships of fish and habitat in coastal marshes of the Great Lakes, as part of a longer-term project to develop habitat-based criteria for protection of aquatic ecosystems. We sampled 24 wetlands across all 5 Great Lakes in 2002 selected according to a factorial design (riverine vs. lagoon morphology, upper vs. lower ecoprovince), and will sample an additional 24 wetlands in 2003. We characterized fish assemblages, aquatic vegetation, algal activity, water quality, sediments, wetland morphology, and human impacts using a sampling design that yields information about fish - habitat relationships by plant growth zones (emergent, submergent, open water), by fluvial environments (backbays, channels, lake-like areas), and at the whole wetland scale. Preliminary results show significant differences in plant cover and diversity and in fish abundance and composition between wetland types and along a gradient of nutrient loading. We will present approaches to characterizing habitat complexity and variability and aggregating to the wetland scale. This abstract does not necessarily reflect EPA policy.