Website

Region(s)

NE

Summary

A nekton monitoring program was established for the estuarine habitat within the GTM NERR. The estuaries of GTM NERR span a total north-south distance of about 60 km and are fed by three rivers (Guana, Tolomato, and Matanzas) and two inlets (St. Augustine and Matanzas), and are dominated in the south by mangroves and in the north by Spartina marsh. The estuary is strongly influenced by weather patterns including temperature and rain; these two factors lead to a wide range of environmental conditions that can rapidly change making the GTM NERR an ideal site for studying nekton diversity.

Parameters

start and stop depths, water temperature (°C), salinity (ppt), dissolved oxygen (mg/L), species, total number, average total length (mm)

Notes

Application

Results are to provide basic knowledge about nekton diversity at the GTM NERR, to determine the factors that explain variation in density and diversity and how it changes over time, and identify new species.

Publications

reports, presentations, and community outreach

Start

2010

End

2018

Frequency

Monthly

Method

The north-south span of water within the GTM NERR was divided into 20 equal zones (10 in the northern and 10 in the southern component) of approximately 2.9 km for nekton and benthic invertebrate monitoring. Samples were collected monthly using a 4.9 m otter trawl (38 mm body mesh and 6 mm mesh cod-end), for two minute intervals. Three replicates occurred at each site for every sampling event (total 60 samples/month). Environmental data were collected at each site using a handheld YSI meter. Habitat type and tide were also recorded. Fish collected were identified to species and counted. The first 20 specimens of each species were measured for Total Length to the nearest millimeter. All identified animals were returned to the water. Any animals that could not be identified in the field were retained. Retained animals were kept in a plastic container on ice for later identification and preserved in 70% ethanol.

Discontinuity

2012 - 2017

Data Location

GTM NERR Server

Data Format

Excel
No

Habitats

Water Column

SEACAR Citation

Alternative Citation

indicates priority attributes