The Influence of Climate, Nutrient Loading and Predation on Spatial and Temporal Changes in Fish Assemblages in Narragansett Bay

Estuarine fish are highly valued resources that are affected by many factors, but often each factor is examined in isolation.  Here, we examine the spatial and temporal patterns in estuarine fish assemblage in Narragansett Bay, an estuary located in Rhode Island and Massachusetts using data collected in a trawl survey conducted by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management for the years 1980 – 2012.  The data  was separated by season and grouped by upper, middle, and lower sections of the Bay.   Our explanatory variables included several indicators of climate variability, nitrogen loading, fishing and cormorant abundance over the same time period.  There was high variability among many fish species and sites through time, but notable declines in demersal species such as winter flounder, windowpane flounder, hogchoker and red hake and increases in pelagic species such as scup, butterfish and longfin squid.  A systems-level understanding of the historic trends in fish assemblages in relation to multiple stressors is necessary to manage valued finfish species and the estuarine system as a whole.