Tropical cyclone impacts on seagrass-associated fishes in a temperate-subtropical estuary

PLoS One. 2022 Oct 13;17(10):e0273556. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273556. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Major storms can alter coastal ecosystems in several direct and indirect ways including habitat destruction, stormwater-related water quality degradation, and organism mortality. From 2010-2020, ten tropical cyclones impacted coastal North Carolina, providing an opportunity to explore ecosystem responses across multiple storms. Using monthly trawl and contemporaneous seagrass surveys conducted in Back Sound, NC, we evaluated how cyclones may affect the nursery role of shallow-water biogenic habitats by examining seagrass-associated fish responses within a temperate-subtropical estuary. We employed a general before-after-control-impact approach using trawls conducted prior (before) and subsequent (after) to storm arrival and years either without (control) or with (impact) storms. We examined whether effects were apparent over short (within ~three weeks of impact) and seasonal (May-October) timescales, as well as if the magnitude of storm-related shifts varied as a function of storm intensity. Our findings suggest that the ability of these shallow-water habitats to support juvenile fishes was not dramatically altered by hurricanes. The resilience exhibited by fishes was likely underpinned by the relative persistence of the seagrass habitat, which appeared principally undamaged by storms based upon review of available-albeit limited seagrass surveys. Increasing cyclone intensity, however, was correlated with greater declines in catch and may potentially underlie the emigration and return rate of fish after cyclones. Whether estuarine fishes will continue to be resilient to acute storm impacts despite chronic environmental degradation and predicted increases major tropical cyclone frequency and intensity remains a pressing question.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cyclonic Storms*
  • Ecosystem
  • Estuaries
  • Fishes / physiology
  • North Carolina

Grants and funding

This research was supported by NSF Awards 1926395 and 1906651 to J. Fodrie, NSF Award 1906635 to J. Jarvis and J. Kenworthy, NSF Award 1901746 to R. Gittman, and the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries Marine Resources Fund to J. Fodrie. There was no additional external funding received for this study.