Long-Term Aquatic Faunal Sampling via Throw Trap in Shark River Slough, Everglades, Florida, USA, 1978 – 2021

Long-term monitoring of fish communities in the Everglades using 1-m2 throw traps started in 1978 and is ongoing. Data represent the number of individuals per species collected per throw trap (i.e., individuals per square meter). From 1978-1995 sampling occurred five times per year, referred to as periods, at one plot per site and the number of throws was determined by estimates of inter-sample variance. In 1996, the spatial extent of monitoring was expanded to include additional sites and multiple plots per site. At each plot 5-7 throw trap samples were collected with sampling location within a plot being drawn from a random number table. Days since dry (DSD) are calculated as the number of days since depth was last < 5 cm using the Everglades Depth Estimation Network and in situ depth measurements. Statistical comparisons of community composition can be found in FCE1258_community_change.Rmd