Environmental Drivers of Forage Fishes and Benthic Invertebrates at Multiple Spatial Scales in a Large Temperate Estuary
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Environmental Drivers of Forage Fishes and Benthic Invertebrates at Multiple Spatial Scales in a Large Temperate Estuary Ryan J. Woodland 1 & Andre Buchheister 2 & Robert J. Latour 3 & Carlos Lozano 1,4 & Edward Houde 1 & Christopher J. Sweetman 3,5 & Mary C. Fabrizio 3 & Troy D. Tuckey 3 Received: 24 April 2020 / Revised: 4 September 2020 / Accepted: 9 September 2020 # Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation 2020
Abstract Vertebrate and invertebrate taxa that serve as forage for predators play a critical role in coastal ecosystems by linking lower trophic levels to ecologically and economically valuable predators in upper trophic levels. We analyzed long-term data from multiple monitoring surveys in Chesapeake Bay and its major tributaries to evaluate patterns and relative abundances of forage at two spatial scales and to identify drivers of forage availability. Time series of forage abundances showed positive spatial correlation, becoming increasingly similar with declining distance between tributaries and regions of Chesapeake Bay. Statistical models were fit to identify relationships among forage taxa and climatic, biological, and environmental variables. Annual abundance indices of many forage taxa were higher in years when spring water temperatures warmed slowly, as indicated by an annual 5 °C degree-day warming index that represented the rate of warming during late winter/early spring. Forage indices also were related (in taxon-specific ways) to winter–spring chlorophyll concentration and freshwater discharge, and to three summer water quality variables: dissolved oxygen, salinity, and water temperature, in addition to a broad-scale climate indicator (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation). Our findings broadly demonstrate that bottom–up climate forcing acts to control at least some taxa at lower trophic levels in Chesapeake Bay. Ongoing phenological changes in regional climate and evidence of spatial dependence in responses of forage to environmental conditions underscore the likelihood that spatiotemporal foraging conditions for predator species will change under projected climate conditions. Keywords Food web . Bottom–up . Climate change . Forage . Spatial variability
Communicated by David G Kimmel Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00835-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Ryan J. Woodland [email protected]
Mary C. Fabrizio [email protected] Troy D. Tuckey [email protected]
Andre Buchheister [email protected] Robert J. Latour [email protected]
1
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD 20688, USA
Carlos Lozano [email protected]
2
Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521, USA
3
Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA
4
AKRF, INC, Hanover, MD 21076, USA
5
South Florida Regional Laboratory, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Marathon, FL 33050, USA
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