Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Cebrian, Just

Committee Member

Sparks, Eric

Committee Member

Baker, Ronald

Committee Member

Skarke, Adam

Date of Degree

5-12-2023

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Geosciences

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Geosciences

Abstract

Marshes and seagrass beds have been widely recognized as important habitat for estuarine species, but less has been done on how these habitats interact and function together, thereby limiting understanding of the variability of juvenile recruitment to coastal systems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the interaction between fringing marsh and adjacent seagrass for the provision of habitat for juvenile nekton. Weekly seine net and benthic seagrass core sampling from June to November 2020 determine the relationship between nekton and marsh-edge and seagrass habitat. This study shows disparate results, in terms of the effects of proximity to marsh edge and seagrass biomass on nekton abundance and size, pointing to different selectivity of marsh edge versus seagrass by different species. In addition, there are no effects of proximity to marsh edge and seagrass biomass on community composition, but an interactive effect on community dispersion.

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