AUTHOR=Lennon Ellery , Sealey Kathleen Sullivan 

TITLE=Characterizing Nearshore Fish Assemblages From Intact and Altered Mangrove Shorelines in Biscayne Bay, Florida, United States

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.894663

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2022.894663

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=Biscayne Bay is an urban bay in Southeast Florida, but the southern region of the Bay is dominated by mangroves. Mangrove wetlands provide important habitat for fish but altered by drainage canals in southern Biscayne Bay. This study utilizes a large public dataset to determine if fish form distinct species assemblages throughout Biscayne Bay by examining fish surveyed at 12 different sites over 5 years. Six sites are in front of intact mangrove shorelines, while the other six sites are adjacent to mangrove sites altered by drainage canals or residential marinas. Cluster analyses revealed that fish do form distinct species assemblage clusters which are correlated with salinity and depth. Mangrove shoreline type (intact vs. canal-altered) and geographic location do not appear to affect species composition or diversity in fish assemblages across Southern Biscayne Bay.