Article

Restoring essential fish habitat in southeast Florida: Mangrove and seagrass habitat design components and success monitoring

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  • Shark Research Foundation
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... Over the past century, urban and agricultural development along Biscayne Bay in South Florida has resulted in the loss of over 80% of the native wetland habitat (Milano, 1999;Milano et al., 2007). In Key Biscayne, located in Biscayne Bay, development, dredging, and rapid population growth of invasive exotic species has led to the loss of over 80 ha of south Key Biscayne native habitat (Milano, 1999). ...
... In Key Biscayne, located in Biscayne Bay, development, dredging, and rapid population growth of invasive exotic species has led to the loss of over 80 ha of south Key Biscayne native habitat (Milano, 1999). In 1992, Hurricane Andrew destroyed the majority of the invasive Australian pine forest in Key Biscayne (Milano, 1999;Milano et al., 2007). The Florida Department of Environmental Protection Division of Parks and Recreation (FDEP) saw this as an opportunity to restore the historically and naturally occurring vegetation along the southern tip of Key Biscayne (Milano et al., 2007). ...
... In 1992, Hurricane Andrew destroyed the majority of the invasive Australian pine forest in Key Biscayne (Milano, 1999;Milano et al., 2007). The Florida Department of Environmental Protection Division of Parks and Recreation (FDEP) saw this as an opportunity to restore the historically and naturally occurring vegetation along the southern tip of Key Biscayne (Milano et al., 2007). ...
Article
Mangroves provide essential habitat for juvenile fish species. Restoration and monitoring are important conservation tools to ensure the recovery and maintenance of coastal mangrove habitats impacted by humans. In this study, Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (BRVUS) were used to non-invasively examine the relative abundance and richness of fishes within restored mangrove pools in Biscayne Bay, Florida, 15 years after replanting. The potential influence of several environmental factors on fish abundance and richness within the restored mangrove pools was also evaluated. Limited seine sampling was also conducted to provide a comparison of the current fish assemblage with that of two prior surveys using seine nets. Twenty fish taxa were observed in the current study, consisting of five families, two genera, and thirteen species. Several environmental factors emerged as significant influences on the presence and abundance of different fish taxa, especially individual pools. A comparison of CPUE between current and prior seine studies found an increase in forage fish taxa and a shift from taxa that prefer a range of habitats to mangrove specific taxa, indicating an increased ecological function of these mangroves as fish habitat.
... Others considered specific indicator species or communities. Most focus on fish (Llanso et al. 1998;Lorenz and Serafy 2006;Milano et al. 2007; Valentine-Rose and Layman 2011) and/or crustaceans (Macintosh et al. 2002 (who also considered biodiversity); Walton et al. 2007;Smith et al. 2009;Browder and Robblee 2009). ...
Article
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Interest in mangrove rehabilitation has increased rapidly since 2003, as has awareness of the damaging effects of natural and anthropogenic pressures that contribute to mangrove loss, which is estimated at 1-2 % per annum. The major pressures are from urbanization and other development in all areas and forestry and fisheries especially where communities depend on mangroves for their livelihood. However rehabilitation success has been uncertain, reflecting gaps in integration between human and ecological components of the rehabilitation system. In particular there are government level issues of gaps and inconsistency in policy and failure in application. Some rehabilitation efforts have had limited success for several reasons including: having insufficient information, using inappropriate methods, not involving local communities, or not following all the steps in the processes that have been identified in the literature. A multi-disciplinary and integrated approach is needed to assist future planning and this needs capacity from a variety of areas in government, research and community. The review concludes with hope for a future where governments work with communities to develop policies and strategies for rehabilitating mangrove for resilience to changing environments.
... Restoration of mangroves is now a major component of shoreline protection projects (Milano 1999). Recent restoration designs have incorporated living shoreline practices by planting young mangrove seedlings shoreward of riprap (Milano et al. 2007). e existing riprap is used as a barrier to prevent shoreline erosion and absorb wave energy, thereby creating a low wave energy zone for mangrove propagules to grow. ...
Article
Full-text available
The installation of living shorelines is one strategy used to ameliorate habitat degradation along developed coastlines. In this process, existing hard structures, such as sea walls and riprap revetments, are supplemented with habitat forming species, e.g., oysters and mangrove trees, to improve habitat quality and function. Shoreline restorations in Biscayne Bay, Florida, USA, often utilize red mangroves, Rhizophora mangle (Linneaus, 1753), in addition to riprap revetments, to help stabilize the shoreline. This riprap-mangrove habitat provides structure for marine organisms to utilize and is believed to improve shoreline habitats in areas previously cleared of mangroves. We examined whether habitat provisioning was similar between restored mangrove habitat with the inclusion of riprap boulders and natural mangrove shorelines. We compared fish assemblages between natural mangrove and riprap-mangrove habitats within two areas of northern Biscayne Bay. Fish community structure and certain benthic cover types varied between mangroves and riprap-mangrove habitats. Total fish abundance was greater in mangrove habitat, while taxonomic richness was highest in riprap-mangrove sites in the northern part of the bay. Our findings suggest that fish assemblages and community structure are different between these habitat types, although the geographic context may mediate the effect of habitat type. Therefore, it is likely that these restored mangroves provide different ecological services than unaltered mangrove shorelines.
... For example, working in Bahamian Tidal creeks, Layman et al. (2007) found that the trophic niche width of gray snapper declined due to the loss of food diversity following anthropogenic habitat fragmentation. Biscayne Bay has lost over 80% of its fringe mangrove habitats; our study area within the Bay has not yet been similarly impacted by any noticeable anthropogenic habitat modifications (Milano et al. 2007). However, the present study provides baseline data on fish feeding intensity, diet composition and niche breadth to compare against any possible future ecosystem changes at our site. ...
Article
Few studies have examined seasonal diet variation and trophic relationships among fishes in shallow subtropical waters. We sampled consecutive wet and dry seasons within Biscayne Bay, Florida, USA, to examine seasonal diet and feeding habit variation in juvenile gray snapper Lutjanus griseus (GS), bluestriped grunt Haemulon sciurus (BSG), seabream Archosargus rhomboidalis (SB) and great barracuda Sphyraena barracuda (GB). We found significantly lower feeding intensity during the dry season compared to the wet, which is likely related to lower water temperatures during the former season. GS fed on a variety of fishes and crustaceans, while BSG fed primarily on caridean shrimps. SB fed on vegetation and GB was piscivorous. Seasonal shifts in major food resources generally did not correspond with changes in relative abundance of food supply. Seasonal population niche breadth differences were evident for GS, GB and BSG, but for SB niche breadth was similar between seasons. Based on seasonal food supply, population niche breadth values did not match basic foraging theory predictions, which state that niche breadth should expand as preferred food items become scarce. In GS, BSG and GB, individuals fed on a narrow subset of prey consumed by the population, revealing the existence of individual specialization. For these species, seasonal expansion in population niche breadth did not correspond to increased individual specialization, but rather via increased within-individual variation in resource use. Given the seasonal differences in feeding habits, it is important to incorporate seasonal variation when modeling trophodynamics of shallow subtropical systems or characterizing them as essential fish habitats.
... For example, working in Bahamian Tidal creeks, Layman et al. (2007) found that trophic niche width of gray snapper declined due to the loss of food diversity following anthropogenic habitat fragmentation. Biscayne Bay has lost over 80 % of its mangrove fringe habitats; my study area within the Bay has not yet been similarly impacted by any noticeable anthropogenic habitat modifications ( Milano et al. 2007). ...
Article
The combined effects of food availability and predation risk on fish foraging behavior have been investigated via both laboratory and field experiments, primarily in temperate, freshwater systems and during daylight hours. In contrast, relatively little attention has been directed towards fish foraging decisions along subtropical shorelines, which serve as nursery grounds for a variety of economically important fishes, as well as at night, when many species emerge from refuges to feed. The mangrove-seagrass ecotone and adjacent seagrass beds constitute nocturnal feeding grounds for fish secondary-tertiary consumers. In subtropical Biscayne Bay, Florida (USA), I investigated the influences of food and risk on nocturnal seagrass use by gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus), bluestriped grunt (Haemulon sciurus), great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), and seabream (Archosargus rhomboidalis) along a distance gradient, spanning from the mangrove fringe to 120 m from shore. This was accomplished by conducting a series of integrated field and laboratory studies, including: (1) nocturnal seine sampling to determine fish abundance patterns in relation to the mangrove-seagrass interface; (2) fish stomach content analysis to reveal feeding habits and trophic relationships; and (3) diel field tethering experiments to explore nearshore gradients in predation pressure. With these data I tested a priori predictions of fish distributions relative to food and predation risk that were generated from foraging theory: (1) fishes will be distributed across the distance gradient in proportion to their food supply (i.e., ideal free distribution, IFD); or (2) fishes will avoid high risk areas such that their abundances will be lower than predicted by food resources in high-risk habitats (i.e., food-risk trade-off). Results revealed that fish assemblage composition differed by season and distance from shore, with the zone nearest the mangroves generally harboring the lowest densities of late-stage juvenile fishes. Stomach content analysis demonstrated that gray snapper fed on a variety of small fishes and crustaceans, while bluestriped grunt fed primarily on caridean shrimp. Seabream fed almost exclusively on vegetation and great barracuda was almost entirely piscivorous; however, seasonal shifts in diet and feeding habits were evident. Seasonal shifts in major food resource use generally did not correspond with changes in relative abundance of food supply. Seasonal trophic niche breadth differences were evident for gray snapper, great barracuda and bluestriped grunt, while niche breadth was equivalent between seasons for seabream. Based on seasonal food supply in the environment, niche breadth values did not match basic foraging theory predictions, which state niche breadth should expand as preferred food resources become scarce. Tethering experiments indicated that predation rates were highest nearest the mangrove edge and decreased with increasing distance from shore. Moreover, predation pressure at night was nearly twice as high compared to the day. Testing these data against my predictions from foraging theory, I found that none of the fishes examined (gray snapper, seabream and bluestriped grunt) were distributed according to IFD. Seabream and gray snapper avoided foraging close to the mangrove-edge, where their food was most abundant, but risk was highest. Bluestriped grunt appeared to forage randomly across the distance gradient despite spatial variation in food and predation risk. Overall, results suggest that: (1) spatial patterns of utilization of seagrass habitat adjacent to the mangrove-seagrass ecotone differs by species, life-stage and season; (2) Seasonal shifts in diet were not correlated with changes in relative abundance of food supply; (3) trophic niche breadth of late juveniles did not expand with declines in their food resources; (4) the mangrove-seagrass ecotone appears to serve as a hunting corridor for predators targeting juvenile fishes moving about the mangroves; and (5) two of the three species examined appeared to give up food in return for safety by avoiding foraging near the mangroves, despite high food availability.
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