Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001
| PC12 Trophic Dynamic Studies |
| Date: Thursday, February 15, 2001 |
| Location: Southwest Hall |
| Graves, R, H, Morgan State University and USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Baltimore and Laurel, USA, reginald_graves@usgs.gov |
| FISHERY TROPHIC LINKAGES IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY ECOSYSTEM |
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| The Chesapeake Bay ecosystem supplies roughly 250,000 – 350,000 metric tonnes to annual U.S. catches. Over 50 species are caught in the Bay. The complexity of the ecosystem along with the steadily increasing human population of its watershed makes fishery management difficult. Modern fishery management calls for multi-species models and approaches. Unlike single-species approaches, multi-species approaches treat stocks as part of an ecosystem, taking into account natural mortality, growth effects, and dynamics of the entire food web. In order to develop these approaches, a good understanding of trophic linkages under varying conditions is needed. This study serves to identify trophic linkages through the use of a combination of stomach content and C, N, and S stable isotope analysis. Samples represent fish, bivalve, and crab populations in mesohaline and polyhaline regions of the Bay. We expect to find differences within species and age classes spatially, under varying water quality conditions, and at different seasons. |
| This Session Listing |
