A COMPARISON OF FISH POPULATIONS FROM NATURAL AND CONSTRUCTED FRESH-WATER MARSHES IN CENTRAL FLORIDA

In Florida, freshwater marshes are constructed as mitigation for wetla nd loss associated with phosphate strip mining, but little is known re garding the similarity of fish communities in natural and constructed marshes. Fish from five constructed and eight natural marshes were sam pled quarterly via throw-traps for one year. Gambusia holbrooki, Heter andria formosa, Poecilia latipinna, Elassoma evergladei, Fundulus chry sotus, Jordanella floridae, Fundulus rubifrons, and unidentified juven ile centrarchids were found in both constructed and natural marshes, w hile Lucania goodei was found only in constructed marshes. A compariso n between constructed and natural marsh populations showed that differ ences in mean abundance and biomass at p < 0.05 (Wilcoxon rank-sum tes t) were present for G. holbrooki and E. evergladei. Differences in pop ulations may be attributed to differences in conditions found in const ructed and natural marshes.