Connectivity of Fish Nursery Habitats Between Maryland's Coastal Bays and Nearshore Ocean Environment

The nearshore marine environment in the Mid-Atlantic Bight constitutes an expansive area of understudied nursery habitat directly connected to estuaries and coastal bays. This association may result in similar nursery function in nearshore and estuarine environments. The relative abundance and trophic niches of juvenile fish were compared between the Maryland coastal bays and nearshore habitats for Bairdiella chrysoura, Cynoscion regalis, and Anchoa mitchilli. Juveniles were collected in the summer and fall seasons of 2009 in both habitat types. Relative abundance of A. mitchilli was higher in the coastal bays in August, but lower in September; diet was dominated by zoea in the coastal bays and copepods in nearshore. C. regalis were most abundant in nearshore during both August and September; diet was characterized by mysidae in the nearshore and zoea in the coastal bays. B. chrysoura were absent from nearshore samples during August but frequently appeared in coastal bay sites, while the opposite was true for September sampling. Mysidae dominated the diet of B. chrysoura in both habitats, followed by amphipoda in the coastal bays and zoea in the nearshore. Intra-species differences in juvenile fish abundance and trophic niche across season and habitat suggests spatiotemporally discrete usage of nursery habitat.