Functional Assessment of Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands: Insights from Fish Diversity

Session: 08b. - Restoration of Native Fishes

Sara Diller, US Geological Survey, [email protected]
Afton Welninski, USGS, [email protected]
Jean Adams, US Geological Survey, [email protected]
Jeffrey Schaeffer, USGS Great Lakes Science Center, [email protected]

Abstract

Coastal wetlands provide critical habitat for many Great Lakes fishes; many species use these habitats for spawning, nursery, feeding, thermal refuges, or protection from predators. However, anthropogenic stressors have resulted in basin-wide variation in wetland quality. We are examining how wetland quality may influence fish diversity and community structure. Using fyke net data from coastal wetlands sampled in Fall 2016 and Spring 2017, we modeled fish abundance, species richness, Shannon diversity, and community composition across a range of wetland qualities assessed with an Index of Biotic Integrity. Wetland quality was not a strong community driver in either sampling season, but there were sharp differences in species composition between the two seasons. Centrarchids dominated the fish community in the fall, while cyprinids dominated the fish community in the spring. This suggests that to fully understand fish-habitat relationships in coastal wetlands, we should consider seasonal differences in fish communities. Our goal is to provide insight into how anthropogenic activity affects fish production in Great Lakes coastal wetlands.

1. Keyword
coastal wetlands

2. Keyword
fish

3. Keyword
water quality