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A New Approach to Functionally Assess Estuarine Fish Communities in Response to Hydrologic Change

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Abstract

Functional assessment approaches can identify indicators of environmental change and ecological response in estuaries. This study used a 24-year coastal fisheries dataset (1993–2016) and environmental data to evaluate fish assemblage changes in Galveston Bay, Texas (USA) in response to environmental parameters and freshwater inflows, drought, and flood. Functional classification categorized 107 fish species into eleven functional groups to determine if estuarine species serve as suitable indicators of environmental condition. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (nMDS), distance-based linear models, and graphing techniques using annual departures from period averages determined relationships between functional group abundance, freshwater inflows, and environmental parameters. Results show that estuarine-resident carnivore, estuarine-resident omnivore, marine migrant carnivore, and marine straggler carnivore functional groups exhibit highest species richness (mean = 21 species) and abundance (mean = 48,411 individuals) compared with other functional groups (mean species richness = 3; mean abundance = 1143 individuals). Declines in abundance of functional groups occurred during a 2011–2014 drought, with rebounds in 2015–2016. Relationships between inflows, salinity, and functional group abundance were evident in upper Galveston Bay, diminishing with increasing distance from major freshwater sources. Functional abundance in lower parts of the bay was decoupled from inflows and salinity changes. Findings support the conclusion that estuarine-resident and marine functional groups have limited potential to serve as bioindicators, while freshwater migrant carnivores are potential bioindicators for upper portions of the estuary. Functional methodologies provide insight into effects of environmental change on estuarine ecosystems and serve as management tools to assess changes in fish assemblages.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Mark Fisher and staff of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for use of the coastal fisheries data set and assistance with data acquisition. Thank you to Nelun Fernando, Caimee Schoenbaechler, and Ram Neupane at the Texas Water Development Board for assistance with freshwater inflows data acquisition. The authors would also like to thank Qian Song, Bill Bass, and Ryan Bare at the Houston Advanced Research Center for assistance with data conversion from raw formats, geospatial data processing, and quality assurance support. We also thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their careful review and insightful comments and suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Houston Advanced Research Center, 8801 Gosling Road, The Woodlands, TX, 77381, USA

    Lisa A. Gonzalez & L. James Lester

  2. Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, 200 Seawolf Pkwy, Galveston, TX, 77553, USA

    Antonietta Quigg & Jamie L. Steichen

  3. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, 534 John Kimbrough Blvd, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Lisa A. Gonzalez & Frances P. Gelwick

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  1. Lisa A. Gonzalez
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  2. Antonietta Quigg
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  3. Jamie L. Steichen
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  4. Frances P. Gelwick
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  5. L. James Lester
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Correspondence to Lisa A. Gonzalez.

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Communicated by Charles Simenstad

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Gonzalez, L.A., Quigg, A., Steichen, J.L. et al. A New Approach to Functionally Assess Estuarine Fish Communities in Response to Hydrologic Change. Estuaries and Coasts 44, 1118–1131 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00824-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00824-y

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