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Relative nursery function of oyster, vegetated marsh edge, and nonvegetated bottom habitats for juvenile white shrimp Litopenaeus setiferus

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Abstract

Shallow estuarine habitats, including vegetated marsh edge (VME), oyster reefs (oyster), and nonvegetated soft bottom (NVB), provide important functions for estuarine resident and estuarine-dependent species. A paucity of information exists concerning relative nursery value of these habitats for juvenile fishes and invertebrates. In Grand Bay, MS and Weeks Bay, AL, National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERR), this study evaluated the potential of the three habitats to serve as nurseries by quantifying habitat-specific density, size, growth, and survival of juvenile white shrimp Litopenaeus setiferus. Drop sampling in Oct 2003 and Jul 2004 indicated that white shrimp density was significantly greater in oyster and VME when compared with adjacent NVB. No significant difference occurred in density between oyster and VME. Significantly larger shrimp were collected in NVB, intermediate-sized shrimp were collected in oyster, and smaller shrimp were collected in VME. Using field enclosures to study growth of juvenile white shrimp we found significantly higher growth in oyster when compared with NVB and VME. Predator mesocosm experiments indicated that when blue crabs were used as predators, white shrimp juveniles experienced significantly higher survival rates in VME and NVB when compared with oyster. Our study suggests that juvenile white shrimp may select for oyster over NVB because of higher food availability and not necessarily for refuge needs from predation by blue crabs. In addition, juvenile habitat needs may shift with individual growth, indicating that the relative nursery value of a habitat is not inclusive for all juvenile sizes. Similar to VME, oyster provides an important function in the juvenile stages of white shrimp and should be examined further as a potential nursery habitat.

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Acknowledgements

This research would not have been possible without the field assistance of Stuart Ralston. We thank Sarah Johnston for creating the map of Grand Bay NERR and Steve Zeug for helpful comments that improved this manuscript. We thank the following for funding: TAMU Tom Slick Fellowship, Susan Arseven Award, Graduate Women in Science Vessa Notchev Fellowship, Texas Water Resources Institute Mills Scholarship, Seaspace Scholarship, Ryan Kelley Memorial Scholarship from International Women’s Fishing Association, Coastal Conservation Association, and NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve Fellowship. Lastly, we appreciate all the assistance provided by personnel at Grand Bay NERR, Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and Weeks Bay NERR.

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  1. Virginia R. Shervette

    Present address: The Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine & Coastal Sciences, University of South Carolina, 607 EWS Building, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

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  1. Section of Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Systematics, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, 2258 Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-2258, USA

    Virginia R. Shervette & Frances Gelwick

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  1. Virginia R. Shervette
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Correspondence to Virginia R. Shervette.

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Shervette, V.R., Gelwick, F. Relative nursery function of oyster, vegetated marsh edge, and nonvegetated bottom habitats for juvenile white shrimp Litopenaeus setiferus . Wetlands Ecol Manage 16, 405–419 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-007-9077-z

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