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Distribution and structure of coastal ichthyoplankton communities of the Bay of Fundy in southern New Brunswick, Canada

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Abstract

Ichthyoplankton communities from Saint John Harbour and Passamaquoddy Bay on the New Brunswick shore of the Bay of Fundy, Canada, were sampled seasonally between 2011 and 2014. Saint John Harbour is an industrialised port whereas Passamaquoddy Bay is less developed, with a focus on aquaculture. In total, 32 species of fish eggs and larvae were recorded: 26 species in Saint John Harbour and 25 in Passamaquoddy Bay. Nineteen species were common to both areas. The dominant species in Passamaquoddy Bay were Enchelyopus cimbrius, Urophycis sp., Scophthalmus aquosus, and Tautogolabrus adspersus. In Saint John Harbour, E. cimbrius, Urophycis sp., Clupea harengus, and Pseudopleuronectes americanus were most abundant. The communities of the two areas were significantly different. This was most pronounced in summer when Saint John Harbour had a much higher proportion of C. harengus and much lower overall abundances, relative to Passamaquoddy Bay. Saint John Harbour demonstrated higher taxonomic diversity than Passamaquoddy Bay, attributable to the wider variety of salinity regimes present within the harbour. In both areas, the ichthyoplankton communities were strongly seasonal with the highest abundance and diversity in summer. Surface temperature was the best predictor of community composition. Given its industrialisation, Saint John Harbour had a surprisingly diverse ichthyoplankton community, comparable to the less impacted Passamaquoddy Bay. The strong flushing in the harbour by high riverine output and tidal exchange may diminish industrial impact. We strongly recommend incorporating ichthyoplankton into the long-term monitoring of Saint John Harbour and provide guidance to this end.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Captain Brian Lord and mates Chris Johnson and Gary Libby who ably manned the R/V Fundy Spray in Saint John Harbour. Thanks are also due to David Methven of the University of New Brunswick plus various graduate and Huntsman Marine Science Centre summer students for field assistance there. Passamaquoddy Bay collecting was assisted by Rebecca Gorham, Melissa Baker, and Charlotte Bartlett. Plankton samples were processed by Mary Greenlaw, Cindy Needler, and Karen Ross. Marti Anderson kindly provided guidance on the PERMANOVA analysis. Thanks are due to Allen Curry and David Methven of the Canadian Rivers Institute for promoting an ichthyoplankton component in the development of a cumulative effects assessment approach for the Saint John Harbour-Environmental Monitoring Partnership. The manuscript was improved by the helpful comments of the editor and anonymous reviewers.

Funding

The Passamaquoddy Bay projects were funded by the New Brunswick Environmental Trust Fund, the New Brunswick Wildlife Trust Fund, and Acadian Seaplants Ltd. Summer students were supported by an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. The Saint John Harbour project was supported by the Canadian Water Network. Preparation of this manuscript was partially supported by a financial contribution from Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Huntsman Marine Science Centre, 1 Lower Campus Road, Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, E5B 2L7, Canada

    Lou Van Guelpen, Claire Goodwin, Rebecca Milne & Gerhard Pohle

  2. University of New Brunswick, 100 Tucker Park Rd, Saint John, NB, E2K 5E2, Canada

    Claire Goodwin

  3. Canadian Rivers Institute at the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Simon Courtenay

Authors
  1. Lou Van Guelpen
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  2. Claire Goodwin
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  4. Gerhard Pohle
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claire Goodwin.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for animal testing, animal care and use of animals were followed by the authors.

Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities and are mentioned in the acknowledgements, if applicable. The study is compliant with CBD and Nagoya protocols.

Data availability

The data used for this analysis are publicly available on the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (Van Guelpen, 2016)-http://ipt.iobis.org/obiscanada/resource?r=arc. Specimens are retained in the Atlantic Reference Centre museum and available for study. Contact arc@dfo-mpo.gc.ca for loan requests.

Author contribution

LVG and SC conceived and designed the research and obtained funding. LVG, RM, GP, and SC conducted sampling. LVG and RM performed and supervised taxonomic analysis of samples. CG, GP, and RM analysed data. LVG and CG drafted the manuscript. All authors commented and contributed to the final version.

Additional information

Communicated by R. R. Hopcroft

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Van Guelpen, L., Goodwin, C., Milne, R. et al. Distribution and structure of coastal ichthyoplankton communities of the Bay of Fundy in southern New Brunswick, Canada. Mar. Biodivers. 51, 2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-020-01146-9

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