Analysis of the Fish Community on Tidal-Freshwater Constructed Reefs

Constructed reefs are used successfully in marine systems to enhance spawning habitat; this study examines the effectiveness of constructed reefs in a tidal-freshwater river. Fish abundance, species diversity and richness, residency, water column position, reproductive guilds, and feeding guilds we...

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Main Author: Langford, Briana
Format: Others
Published: VCU Scholars Compass 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/2852
http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3851&context=etd
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spelling ndltd-vcu.edu-oai-scholarscompass.vcu.edu-etd-38512017-03-17T08:26:37Z Analysis of the Fish Community on Tidal-Freshwater Constructed Reefs Langford, Briana Constructed reefs are used successfully in marine systems to enhance spawning habitat; this study examines the effectiveness of constructed reefs in a tidal-freshwater river. Fish abundance, species diversity and richness, residency, water column position, reproductive guilds, and feeding guilds were analyzed on two constructed reefs in the tidal-freshwater James River and compared to silted regions representing the primary substrate in the river. Reefs were sampled using hydroacoustics, electroshocking, gillnetting, trawling, and egg mats. The constructed reefs had a greater proportion of fish that broadcast spawn over hard substrate and a trend of more overall individual, residential, and demersal fish. The results suggest that the reefs may be attracting a different fish community than their respective comparison sites, though additional research on the effectiveness of constructed reefs in tidal-freshwater rivers is recommended. 2012-07-01T07:00:00Z text application/pdf http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/2852 http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3851&context=etd © The Author Theses and Dissertations VCU Scholars Compass Fish Fish Community Constructed Reefs Environmental Sciences Physical Sciences and Mathematics
collection NDLTD
format Others
sources NDLTD
topic Fish
Fish Community
Constructed Reefs
Environmental Sciences
Physical Sciences and Mathematics
spellingShingle Fish
Fish Community
Constructed Reefs
Environmental Sciences
Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Langford, Briana
Analysis of the Fish Community on Tidal-Freshwater Constructed Reefs
description Constructed reefs are used successfully in marine systems to enhance spawning habitat; this study examines the effectiveness of constructed reefs in a tidal-freshwater river. Fish abundance, species diversity and richness, residency, water column position, reproductive guilds, and feeding guilds were analyzed on two constructed reefs in the tidal-freshwater James River and compared to silted regions representing the primary substrate in the river. Reefs were sampled using hydroacoustics, electroshocking, gillnetting, trawling, and egg mats. The constructed reefs had a greater proportion of fish that broadcast spawn over hard substrate and a trend of more overall individual, residential, and demersal fish. The results suggest that the reefs may be attracting a different fish community than their respective comparison sites, though additional research on the effectiveness of constructed reefs in tidal-freshwater rivers is recommended.
author Langford, Briana
author_facet Langford, Briana
author_sort Langford, Briana
title Analysis of the Fish Community on Tidal-Freshwater Constructed Reefs
title_short Analysis of the Fish Community on Tidal-Freshwater Constructed Reefs
title_full Analysis of the Fish Community on Tidal-Freshwater Constructed Reefs
title_fullStr Analysis of the Fish Community on Tidal-Freshwater Constructed Reefs
title_full_unstemmed Analysis of the Fish Community on Tidal-Freshwater Constructed Reefs
title_sort analysis of the fish community on tidal-freshwater constructed reefs
publisher VCU Scholars Compass
publishDate 2012
url http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/2852
http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3851&context=etd
work_keys_str_mv AT langfordbriana analysisofthefishcommunityontidalfreshwaterconstructedreefs
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