Comparison of Fish Communities in Natural and Restored Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands
Abstract
Coastal wetlands of the Great Lakes are critical habitats for ecologically and economically important species. Such habitats are susceptible to anthropogenic disturbances, and monitoring of fish communities in natural and restored wetlands has been increasingly important for ecological sustainability. In this study, comparison of fish communities in natural and restored wetlands were based on fish composition and abundance data collected from the Big Island Wetland (BIW) Habitat Bank and the Durham Region Coastal Wetland Monitoring Project (DRCWMP) near Lake Ontario. BIW Habitat Bank serves as one of the offsetting measures to counterbalance residual impacts to fishes resulting from impingement and entrainment at the Ontario Power Generation (OPG) Pickering Nuclear Generating Station (PNGS) since 2013. Fish community data from boat electrofishing surveys in BIW for late summer (August to September) 2018-2020 were compiled with the data from DRWCMP in 2015-2020. Nine species (Black Crappie, Bluegill, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Common Carp, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Pumpkinseed, and Yellow Perch) from a total of 31 wetlands were included in the analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) and correspondence analysis (CA) were performed to examine the relationships between fish species and wetlands. The wetlands were grouped according to their geographic locations (eastern group with longitude 76°W - 77°W and western group with longitude 78°W - 79°W) and a series of environmental indicators: the index of biotic integrity (IBI), the number of native species (SNAT), the percent piscivore biomass (PPIS), the number of native individuals (NNAT), and the percent non-indigenous biomass (PBNI). Results suggested that the fish composition and abundance of these wetlands were significantly associated with the levels of IBI, SNAT, NNAT, and PBNI. Small fish species, such as Pumpkinseed, Yellow Perch, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass and Black Crappie, occurred more frequently in the relatively young, restored wetland BIW, whereas Brown Bullhead and Common Carp were more likely to occur in the western group of wetlands. This study suggested restored wetlands show great potential in serving as valuable habitats for the Great Lakes fish communities and sustaining the functioning and resilience of wetland ecosystems.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2022
- Bibcode:
- 2022AGUFM.B34A..01W