Relationship between anthropogenic sewage discharge, marsh structure and bird assemblages in an SW Atlantic saltmarsh.

One of the main effects of urbanization on coastal areas is through the discharge of sewage, which increases nutrient concentrations in the receiving environment. Salt marshes, like other coastal marine environments, are limited by nutrients, mainly nitrogen, and thus increasing nutrient loadings to a marsh may have consequences on marsh characteristics. We evaluated how the effects of nutrient enrichment in the form of sewage input, affected the vegetation structure and bird assemblages in a Spartina alterniflora salt marsh system near Bahía Blanca, Argentina (39° 01' S - 56° 25' W). Surveys of nutrient concentration, vegetation and birds were made at three different distances from the sewage discharge source. The concentration of ammonium, phosphate, and nitrate and the percent organic matter was higher in marshes nearest to the sewage discharge source. Bird composition and abundance, and vegetation physiognomy changed along a gradient of nutrient concentration. The increased habitat complexity found near the areas of higher nutrient concentration was exploited by birds that use neighboring interior and coastal habitats, including Spartina densiflora marshes, freshwater marshes and upland shrubby habitats. Our results show that local increases of nutrient inputs directly changed the vegetation physiognomy, and indirectly the composition and abundance of bird assemblages.

Food partitioning and spatial subsidy in shelter-limited fishes inhabiting patchy reefs of Patagonia.

The diets of the most conspicuous reef-fish species from northern Patagonia, the carnivorous species Pseudopercis semifasciata, Acanthistius patachonicus, Pinguipes brasilianus and Sebastes oculatus were studied. Pinguipes brasilianus had the narrowest diet and most specialized feeding strategy, preying mostly on reef-dwelling organisms such as sea urchins, limpets, bivalves, crabs and polychaetes. The diet of A. patachonicus was characterized by the presence of reef and soft-bottom benthic organisms, mainly polychaetes, crabs and fishes. Pseudopercis semifasciata showed the broadest spectrum of prey items, preying upon reef, soft-bottom and transient organism (mainly fishes, cephalopods and crabs). All S. oculatus guts were empty, but stable-isotope analyses suggested that this species consumed small fishes and crabs. In general, P. brasilianus depended on local prey populations and ate different reef-dwelling prey than the other species. Pseudopercis semifasciata, A. patachonicus and probably S. oculatus, however, had overlapping trophic niches and consumed resources from adjacent environments. The latter probably reduces the importance of food as a limiting resource for these reef-fish populations, facilitating their coexistence in spite of their high trophic overlap.