Premium
Habitat Suitability Index Models for Eight Fish and Invertebrate Species in Casco and Sheepscot Bays, Maine
Author(s) -
Brown Stephen K.,
Buja Kenneth R.,
Jury Steven H.,
Monaco Mark E.,
Banner Arnold
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8675(2000)020<0408:hsimfe>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - habitat , fishery , pleuronectes , bay , salmo , ichthyoplankton , range (aeronautics) , american lobster , scorpaenidae , homarus , ecology , biology , geography , fish <actinopterygii> , crustacean , materials science , archaeology , composite material
Habitat suitability index (HSI) models were used to map habitat quality for eight fish and invertebrate species in Casco Bay and Sheepscot Bay, Maine. Habitat suitability index modeling can be used to support a wide range of management needs involving species or habitat mapping, including analysis of essential fish habitat. The HSI values were calculated as a function of a species' habitat associations and mapped available habitat. Based on published information and expert review, models for two to four life stages were developed for alewives Alosa psuedoharengus , American sand lances Ammodytes americanus , Atlantic salmon Salmo salar , Atlantic tomcods Microgadus tomcod , common mummichogs Fundulus heteroclitus , winter flounder Pleuronectes americanus , American lobsters Homarus americanus , and softshell clams Mya arenaria. Using geographic information systems (GIS), habitat maps for each bay were developed consisting of 100 × 100‐m grid cells for seasonal temperature and salinity and for depth and predominant substrate type. The HSI models were run in the GIS by reclassifying the habitat maps to a 0–1 suitability index scale, 1.0 representing the most suitable condition for each habitat variable. Following reclassification, the geometric mean of the suitability index values for the habitat variables was calculated by grid cell, and the results were mapped. Model performance was evaluated by expert reviewers and by using Kruskal–Wallis and Wilcoxon nonparametric statistical tests, which compared model outputs with available species catch data. Total suitable habitat on HSI maps ranged from 6% for American sand lance adults and juveniles to 95% for American lobster adults. Habitat importance was analyzed by mapping the arithmetic mean HSI value calculated from all models by season. Based on the mean of the HSI values from these models, which do not contain pollutant effects, shallow, nearshore areas and river mouths near Portland, Maine, provide the most important habitat in Casco Bay. These results suggest that remediation of degraded areas near Portland could restore valuable habitat.