Climate Change Implications to the Early Life History of Estuarine Dependent Fish in an Estuarine Research Reserve

Climate change and its consequences has been one of the most controversial science topics in the past decade and this is likely to continue. Although climate change has been recognized as being a great contributor to shifts in faunal species diversity in all corners of the globe, not much is known about the localized effects of this phenomenon on fish populations. This might be especially so in shallow estuaries where temperature changes may be especially prominent. Many commercially and recreationally important fish species (e.g. winter flounder, summer flounder, American eel, Atlantic croaker, and Atlantic menhaden) are dependent on estuaries in their early life history and all may be susceptible, potentially detrimentally, to the effects of climate change. The overall objective of the proposed study is to determine whether climate change has contributed to shifts in diversity and abundance of fish species in the study site due to its effects during fish larval stages. If there are effects, this could lead to possible influences on the dynamics and management of fish populations. This proposal is to continue a twenty year larval data set in the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JCNERR), in order to monitor the abundance and variation of fish species ingressing into the Great Bay/Mullica River estuary. This weekly sampling effort of larval fish has been conducted in the JCNERR since 1989 and the accumulated data, and continued effort, will be analyzed relative to the physical parameters collected by the JCNERR's System Wide Monitoring Program and other additional information obtained on precipitation, wind speed, and storm intensity in the area.