Exploring the Importance of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Drivers of Mysid Shrimp Distribution in the Penobscot Estuary, Maine

Mysid shrimp are small (~ 1 cm) omnivorous crustaceans that are important prey species for numerous fishes in estuarine and marine habitats.  Mysids are often associated with areas of high turbidity.  However, the nature of this association is largely unknown.  Is this correlation driven by an abundance of zooplankton resources or a refuge from visual predators such as anadromous fish?  We are currently addressing this question through a coupled fish, zooplankton and water quality survey in the Penobscot estuary that began in May 2013.  Our findings confirm that turbidity is an important habitat variable for mysids at our study site.  The ecological role of mysids in the Penobscot estuary as well as their abundance and distribution relative to gradients of resources and risk will be discussed.