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PATTERNS OF FISH USE AND ABUNDANCE IN A SHALLOW COVE, NARRAGANSETT BAY, RHODE ISLAND
Citation:
Cicchetti, G, L Meng, M Chintala, AND Martin. PATTERNS OF FISH USE AND ABUNDANCE IN A SHALLOW COVE, NARRAGANSETT BAY, RHODE ISLAND. Presented at Southern New England Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Old Lyme, CT, June 14, 2000.
Description:
The US EP A (Atlantic Ecology Division) is developing an ecosystem approach to examine ecological integrity in small estuarine coves. One of the first steps in this project is to identify those cove habitats that are most critical for aquatic resource protection and that are most promising for development of ecological indicators. In this talk, we report on fish use of the major habitats in an undeveloped cove, including the marsh surface, intertidal flat, and shallow subtidal. We sampled Coggeshall Cove (Narragansett Bay, RI) during the summer of 1999 at every 15 cm of substrate elevation along transects from the high marsh to the deepest areas within the cove. At high tides, we sampled with 1.75 m2 drop traps for small nekton and with an underwater video camera and trawls for larger nekton. Mean fish abundance at high tide was 6.7 ? 3.4 (SE) fishes m-2 on the marsh surface, 0.6 ? 0.2 fishes m-2 in the intertidal areas, and 14.1 ? 6.4 fishes m-2 in the subtidal habitat, which consisted of dense macroalgae and no seagrass. Using an underwater video camera, we documented use of the cove by Atlantic menhaden (school densities were over 600 fish m-3) and striped bass. At low tides, we sampled with 0.33 m2 drop traps and found a mean of 33.3 ? 12.3 fishes m-2 in the nearshore intertidal/subtidal areas that were used as a low-tide refuge by marsh resident fishes. We also report on the species distribution patterns we observed. Based on fish use, it would be difficult to conclude that any one habitat was more critical than others for aquatic resource protection; all areas seemed important to fish populations at different stages of tide, and several fish species used every major habitat in the cove. We believe that, in terms of value to fishes, habitats in these small cove systems should be considered as integral parts of a whole. Certain habitats, however, may be more informative than others as indicators of ecological integrity for the entire cove.