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

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 examine

SUBMITTER: Zhang YS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9560482 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature