Dynamics of white perch Morone americana population contingents in the Patuxent River estuary, Maryland, USA

Kraus, Richard T.; Secor, David H.

doi:10.3354/meps279247

Cited by 86 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Mixed results have been found in relation to growth variation among resident and migratory fish of other species. Migratory white perch had higher juvenile and adult growth rates than resident fish [16,17], but a study on southern flounder found no advantage of specific residency periods based on several growth proxies [18]. The latter study only focused on first year growth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Partial migration: growth varies between resident and migratory fish

et al. 2015

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Partial migration occurs in many taxa and ecosystems and may confer survival benefits. Here, we use otolith chemistry data to determine whether fish from a large estuarine system were resident or migratory, and then examine whether contingents display differences in modelled growth based on changes in width of otolith growth increments. Sixty-three per cent of fish were resident based on Ba : Ca of otoliths, with the remainder categorized as migratory, with both contingents distributed across most age/size classes and both sexes, suggesting population-level bet hedging. Migrant fish were in slightly better condition than resident fish based on Fulton's K condition index. Migration type (resident versus migratory) was 56 times more likely to explain variation in growth than a model just incorporating year-and age-related growth trends. While average growth only varied slightly between resident and migratory fish, year-to-year variation was significant. Such dynamism in growth rates likely drives persistence of both life-history types. The complex relationships in growth between contingents suggest that management of species exhibiting partial migration is challenging, especially in a world subject to a changing climate.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…migrants in drought conditions), whereas an alternative strategy may be more favourable under a different regime (e.g. [16,19]). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Partial migration: growth varies between resident and migratory fish

et al. 2015

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“…Data were available from the Patuxent River estuary, where we measured strontium in otoliths to infer the juvenile habitats from which adult white perch originated. We observed that, upon metamorphosis from a pelagic freshwater larval stage, juveniles settled in 2 distinct environments: tidal freshwater (salinity < 3) and oligohaline brackish (salinity 3 to 15) habitats (Kraus & Secor 2004b). These patterns of habitat use were recorded in the chemistry of otoliths respectively as either no change or an increase in strontium with age or size ( Fig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…2). Based upon analysis of the independent surveys of juveniles (Kraus & Secor 2004b), this reversal was primarily due to a decrease in brackish juvenile abundance between categories, rather than an increase in freshwater juvenile abundance.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…yearclass). Like many temperate fishes, white perch have large fluctuations (over 100-fold) in juvenile abun- The sample of adults (n = 363) collected from spring spawning aggregations over the course of 5 wk in each of 2 years (when there was a reasonable expectation for obtaining a representative sample) was assumed to represent a random draw from the population, and dominant year-classes were determined independently from seine surveys of juveniles by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis (see Kraus & Secor 2004b). Because we defined only 2 juvenile habitats, statistical inferences were made using a binomial probability distribution where the proportions in a particular category (e.g.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Application of the nursery-role hypothesis to an estuarine fish

Kraus¹,

Secor²

2005

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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In this paper, we address a recent article by Beck et al. (2001, Bioscience 51:633-641), in which it was proposed that the value of a juvenile fish habitat could be most efficiently measured as the production of adults from each juvenile habitat on a per area basis. Based upon retrospective microchemical analysis of otoliths, we calculated this metric (nursery value) for tidal freshwater and brackish littoral habitats of an estuarine fish, white perch Morone americana, in the Patuxent River estuary, Maryland (USA). In dominant year-classes of the population, brackish habitats had the highest nursery value, whereas in all other year-classes, freshwater habitats had the highest nursery value. This result highlights the importance of inter-annual variability in habitat use, and consequently presents a challenging trade-off for applying the nursery-role hypothesis to facilitate habitat conservation and management. Despite this limitation, the nursery-role hypothesis provides an enriched and much needed perspective on population connectivity.

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