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Assessment of Fish Assemblages Before Dredging of the Shipping Channel Near the Mouth of the Savannah River in Coastal Georgia

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Abstract

Evaluating the effects of anthropogenic activities is dependent upon data collection prior to impact, though funds are rarely allocated to conduct an assessment before a critical need arises. The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is one such activity that includes dredging of the Savannah River. It may potentially change physical conditions of the estuary thereby altering fish assemblages. The purpose of the present study was to characterize pre-impact fish assemblages along a salinity gradient near the mouth of the river and determine which abiotic factors most influence them. One site within the mouth of the Savannah River and two sites immediately outside the river mouth were sampled monthly for 2 years using both a beam trawl and seine net. Salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and sediment grain size were assessed. All four factors had a significant effect on fish assemblages. A total of 3943 fishes representing ≥55 species formed three statistically distinct fish assemblages and at least three seasonal assemblages. Only 24 species (43.6 %) were collected by both gear types indicating the importance of using multiple gear types to assess fish assemblages. We conclude that the fish assemblages near the mouth of the Savannah River may be altered or may shift given the predicted increase in salinity and/or the possible changes in sediment composition from channel dredging. Understanding the abiotic factors that most influence spatial and seasonal fish distributions prior to dredging will be invaluable in predicting how organisms will be impacted by similar public projects elsewhere.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center (Award # NA06OAR4810163) and the National Science Foundation Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences program (Award # 914680) for funding this research, manuscript, and the efforts of Jennifer A. Güt. The efforts of Mary Carla Curran were funded by the Department of Education Title VII grant (Award # P382G090003). Data collection from Cockspur Island was possible thanks to the National Park Service at the Fort Pulaski National Monument: Permit ID FOPU-2012-SCI-0001. A special thanks to Michele B. Sherman and Sarah Ramsden for their guidance with this manuscript, and the numerous graduate and undergraduate students at Savannah State University who helped in the field and with editing. Help with statistical analyses was provided by Érica Rios and John P. Manderson. This publication is also listed as Contribution Number 1817 of the Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Science.

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  1. Marine Sciences Program, Savannah State University, Box 20467, Savannah, GA, 31404, USA

    Jennifer A. Güt & Mary Carla Curran

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  1. Jennifer A. Güt
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  2. Mary Carla Curran
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Correspondence to Mary Carla Curran.

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Communicated by Charles Simenstad

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Güt, J.A., Curran, M.C. Assessment of Fish Assemblages Before Dredging of the Shipping Channel Near the Mouth of the Savannah River in Coastal Georgia. Estuaries and Coasts 40, 251–267 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-016-0139-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-016-0139-4

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