ABSTRACT: Estuaries are subject to diverse anthropogenic stressors, such as shellfish aquaculture, which involve extensive use of estuarine tidelands. Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas aquaculture is a century-old practice in US West Coast estuaries that contributes significantly to the regional culture and economy. Native eelgrass Zostera marina also commonly occurs in intertidal areas where oyster aquaculture is practiced. Eelgrass is federally protected in the USA as ‘essential fish habitat’, restricting aquaculture activities within or near eelgrass. To contribute scientific information useful for management decisions, we sought to compare fish habitat use of oyster aquaculture and eelgrass, as well as the edges between these 2 habitats, in Willapa Bay, Washington, USA. Furthermore, given a recent shift towards off-bottom culture methods, in part to protect seagrasses, long-line and on-bottom oyster aquaculture habitats were compared. A combination of direct (underwater video, minnow traps) and indirect (predation tethering units, eelgrass surveys) methods were employed to characterize differences in fish habitat use. Eelgrass density declined within both aquaculture habitats but less so within long-line aquaculture. Most fish species in our study used long-line oyster aquaculture and eelgrass habitats similarly with minimal edge effects, and on-bottom aquaculture was used less than either of the other 2 habitat types. These results are consistent with previously observed positive relationships between fish abundance and vertical habitat structure, but also reveal species-specific behavior; larger mesopredators like Pacific staghorn sculpins were sighted more often in aquaculture than in interior eelgrass habitats.

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前沿：评估美国华盛顿州威拉帕湾的太平洋牡蛎养殖和鳗草之间的鱼类栖息地利用情况

摘要：河口受到各种人为压力源的影响，例如贝类水产养殖，其中涉及河口海涂带的广泛使用。太平洋牡蛎Crassostrea gigas水产养殖在美国西海岸河口已有百年历史，对当地的文化和经济做出了重要贡献。本地鳗草Zostera码头也常发生在进行牡蛎养殖的潮间带地区。鳗草在美国受到联邦政府的“重要鱼类栖息地”保护，限制了鳗草内部或附近的水产养殖活动。为了提供对管理决策有用的科学信息，我们试图比较牡蛎养殖和鳗fish的鱼类栖息地使用情况，以及这两个栖息地之间的边缘，它们位于美国华盛顿的Willapa湾。此外，鉴于最近向底下养殖方法的转变，部分是为了保护海草，比较了长线和底下牡蛎养殖的生境。直接（水下视频，鲤鱼陷阱）和间接（捕食拴系单位，鳗草调查）方法相结合，用于表征鱼类栖息地使用的差异。在两个水产养殖生境中，鳗草密度均下降，但在长线水产养殖中下降幅度较小。在我们的研究中，大多数鱼类使用类似的长线牡蛎养殖和鳗草栖息地，而对边缘的影响最小，并且使用底栖养殖的方式少于其他两种栖息地类型。这些结果与先前观察到的鱼类丰度与垂直栖息地结构之间的正向关系相一致，但也揭示了特定物种的行为。在水产养殖中比在内部的鳗草栖息地中更经常看到较大的中性繁殖体，例如太平洋鹿角。这些结果与先前观察到的鱼类丰度与垂直栖息地结构之间的正向关系相一致，但也揭示了特定物种的行为。在水产养殖中比在内部的鳗草栖息地中更经常看到较大的中性繁殖体，例如太平洋鹿角。这些结果与先前观察到的鱼类丰度与垂直栖息地结构之间的正向关系相一致，但也揭示了特定物种的行为。在水产养殖中比在内部的鳗草栖息地中更经常看到较大的中性繁殖体，例如太平洋鹿角。