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Nekton Community Structure Varies in Response to Coastal Urbanization Near Mangrove Tidal Tributaries

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Abstract

To assess the potential influence of coastal development on estuarine-habitat quality, we characterized land use and the intensity of land development surrounding small tidal tributaries in Tampa Bay. Based on this characterization, we classified tributaries as undeveloped, industrial, urban, or man-made (i.e., mosquito-control ditches). Over one third (37 %) of the tributaries have been heavily developed based on landscape development intensity (LDI) index values >5.0, while fewer than one third (28 %) remain relatively undeveloped (LDI < 3.0). We then examined the nekton community from 11 tributaries in watersheds representing the four defined land-use classes. Whereas mean nekton density was independent of land use, species richness and nekton-community structure were significantly different between urban and non-urban (i.e., undeveloped, industrial, man-made) tributaries. In urban creeks, the community was species-poor and dominated by high densities of poeciliid fishes, Poecilia latipinna and Gambusia holbrooki, while typically dominant estuarine taxa including Menidia spp., Fundulus grandis, and Adinia xenica were in low abundance and palaemonid grass shrimp were nearly absent. Densities of economically important taxa in urban creeks were only half that observed in five of the six undeveloped or industrial creeks, but were similar to those observed in mosquito ditches suggesting that habitat quality in urban and mosquito-ditch tributaries is suboptimal compared to undeveloped tidal creeks. Furthermore, five of nine common taxa were rarely collected in urban creeks. Our results suggest that urban development in coastal areas has the potential to alter the quality of habitat for nekton in small tidal tributaries as reflected by variation in the nekton community.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to A. Brame, M. Brown, N. Hansen, T. Richards, N. Silverman, M. Squitieri, and L. Yeager for assistance with fieldwork. Thanks also to the U.S. Geological Survey, L. Vanderbloemen, and Jacobs Technology, and the State of Florida's Fisheries-Independent Monitoring Program for providing project support and A. Krebs for providing domestic support. This project was partially funded by a grant from the Pinellas County Environmental Fund (#2007-0089-007). Approval for this study was granted by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (protocol #W3340) at the Division of Comparative Medicine, University of South Florida. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. The quality of the manuscript benefited from reviews by M. Greenwood, M. LaPeyre, and D. Sanger, several anonymous reviewers, and the editors. This manuscript represents partial fulfillment of the Ph.D. requirements for J. Krebs.

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  1. Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA

    Justin M. Krebs & Susan S. Bell

  2. AKRF, Inc., 7250 Parkway Drive Suite 210, Hanover, MD, 21076, USA

    Justin M. Krebs

  3. Southeast Ecological Science Center, United States Geological Survey, 600 4th St South, Saint Petersburg, FL, 33701, USA

    Carole C. McIvor

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Krebs, J.M., McIvor, C.C. & Bell, S.S. Nekton Community Structure Varies in Response to Coastal Urbanization Near Mangrove Tidal Tributaries. Estuaries and Coasts 37, 815–831 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-013-9726-9

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