Relation of fish and shellfish distributions to habitat and water quality in the Mobile Bay estuary, USA.
Environ Monit Assess
; 150(1-4): 181-92, 2009 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19083112
ABSTRACT
The Mobile Bay estuary in the northern Gulf of Mexico provides a rich habitat for many fish and shellfish, including those identified as economically and ecologically important. The National Estuary Program in Mobile Bay has focused on restoration of degraded estuarine habitat on which these species depend. To support this effort, we used statistical techniques of ordination, cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis to relate distributions of individual fish and shellfish species and species assemblages to two dozen water quality and habitat variables in a geo-referenced database. Species appeared to respond to dominant gradients of low to high salinity and upland to offshore habitat area; many of the 15 communities identified via cluster analysis showed aggregated spatial distributions that could be related to habitat characteristics. Species in the Mobile River Delta were distinct from those in other areas of the estuary. This analysis supports habitat management in the Mobile Bay estuary; however, due to mobility of organisms among sampling locations and the dynamic environmental conditions in estuaries, we conclude that the analyses presented here are most appropriate for an evaluation of the estuary as a whole.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Água do Mar
/
Frutos do Mar
/
Ecossistema
/
Peixes
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
País/Região como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Monit Assess
Assunto da revista:
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
Ano de publicação:
2009
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos