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<p>Salt marshes are composed of a mosaic of subhabitats including intertidal creeks, the marsh platform, and salt pools. During tidal inundation, these subhabitats function together to provide habitat to nekton (fish and crustaceans). We determined nekton community compositions and spatiotemporal scales of variation between two biophysical regions with contrasting tidal regimes in Maritime Canada, on a seasonal basis (April‒November) in 2022‒2023. Bay of Fundy salt marshes with their megatides have higher marsh platform elevations and lower inundation times, compared to those in the Northumberland Strait with their microtides. The nekton community was speciose with a distinct composition between regions (accounting for up to ~40% of the variation) mostly reflecting different dominating species (<i>Fundulus heteroclitus</i>, <i>Microgadus tomcod</i>, sticklebacks, and <i>Crangon septemspinosa</i>) and varied seasonally (accounting for ~20% of the variation) reflecting transient and resident strategies. Subhabitat (in a separate presence/absence PERMANOVA) also accounted for a large portion of the compositional variation (~30%). Notably, creek and platform nekton communities differed regionally, while salt pool communities were more similar. Our study is the first comprehensive examination of salt marsh use by nekton along the northern temperate Atlantic coast of Canada and contributes to a latitudinal understanding of these nekton communities.</p>

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Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Nekton Communities in Different Subhabitats of Maritime Canadian Salt Marshes

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年9月30日

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  • Kiana C. Endresz,
  • Elizabeth M. T. Bateman,
  • Myriam A. Barbeau

摘要

Salt marshes are composed of a mosaic of subhabitats including intertidal creeks, the marsh platform, and salt pools. During tidal inundation, these subhabitats function together to provide habitat to nekton (fish and crustaceans). We determined nekton community compositions and spatiotemporal scales of variation between two biophysical regions with contrasting tidal regimes in Maritime Canada, on a seasonal basis (April‒November) in 2022‒2023. Bay of Fundy salt marshes with their megatides have higher marsh platform elevations and lower inundation times, compared to those in the Northumberland Strait with their microtides. The nekton community was speciose with a distinct composition between regions (accounting for up to ~40% of the variation) mostly reflecting different dominating species (Fundulus heteroclitus, Microgadus tomcod, sticklebacks, and Crangon septemspinosa) and varied seasonally (accounting for ~20% of the variation) reflecting transient and resident strategies. Subhabitat (in a separate presence/absence PERMANOVA) also accounted for a large portion of the compositional variation (~30%). Notably, creek and platform nekton communities differed regionally, while salt pool communities were more similar. Our study is the first comprehensive examination of salt marsh use by nekton along the northern temperate Atlantic coast of Canada and contributes to a latitudinal understanding of these nekton communities.