RECOVER MAP 3.2.4.6 Salinity Relationships of Epifaunal Species in Near-Shore Biscayne Bay

The pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum), supports a multi-million dollar industry in South Florida and provides a critical food resource for higher trophic level species in Biscayne Bay. Florida pink shrimp spawn offshore of the Dry Tortugas and the larvae migrate to critical nursery grounds in Florida and Biscayne Bays. Pink shrimp recruitment studies focusing on Florida Bay have shown a large degree of correlation between water quality/conditions and shrimp abundance. Specifically, salinity and temperature have been shown to have direct effects on the production of the pink shrimp nursery in Florida Bay. Therefore, understanding the physiological state and performance of pink shrimp, at different salinities and temperatures in Biscayne Bay is critical in predicting the effects of changing salinity and temperature on secondary productivity in, and the overall health of, the bay. This study investigated the effects of different salinity and temperature exposure scenarios on pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum) collected from Biscayne Bay. The purpose was to determine the optimum salinity and temperature conditions for pink shrimp as defined for performance measures (i.e. survival, development, growth). Preliminary testing showed that at 25 degress Celsius, significant differences (p=0.05) were found in the survival of post-larval pink shrimp at different salinities from the control (30 ppt). The lowest salinity at which there was no significant difference from the control was 10 ppt.

粉红虾（Farfantepenaeus duorarum）支撑着南佛罗里达州年产值数百万美元的渔业产业，同时也是比斯坎湾内较高营养级物种的关键食物来源。佛罗里达粉红虾在德赖托图格斯群岛近海产卵，幼体则洄游至佛罗里达湾与比斯坎湾的核心育苗场。针对佛罗里达湾开展的粉红虾补充群体研究显示，水体质量与环境条件与虾类种群丰度存在高度相关性。具体而言，盐度与水温已被证实对佛罗里达湾粉红虾育苗场的种群产出具有直接影响。因此，探明比斯坎湾内不同盐度与水温条件下粉红虾的生理状态与生存表现，对预测盐度、水温变化对海湾次级生产力及整体生态健康的影响至关重要。本研究以从比斯坎湾采集的粉红虾（Farfantepenaeus duorarum）为研究对象，探究了不同盐度与水温暴露场景对其的影响，旨在通过生存、发育、生长等性能指标明确粉红虾的最优盐度与水温条件。预实验结果显示，在25摄氏度条件下，与对照组（盐度30 ppt）相比，不同盐度环境中的粉红虾后期幼体存活率存在显著差异（p=0.05）。与对照组无显著差异的最低盐度为10 ppt。