Wj. Streever et Tl. Crisman, A COMPARISON OF FISH POPULATIONS FROM NATURAL AND CONSTRUCTED FRESH-WATER MARSHES IN CENTRAL FLORIDA, Journal of freshwater ecology, 8(2), 1993, pp. 149-153
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.