Heather DeStefano

University Honors with Honors in Marine Biology

Majors: Marine Biology and Pre-Psychology

Supervisor: Thomas Lankford, Biology and Marine Biology

Effects of Development of Tidal Creek Watersheds in Southeastern North Carolina on the Nutritional Condition of Juvenile White and Striped Mullets

Saltmarsh tidal creeks are a dominant feature along the coast of southeastern North Carolina, valued as a nursery for many species of juvenile fishes. Human development along tidal creeks is a serious threat to fish nursery function due to potential effects on the water quality of this habitat. While some of the ecosystem effects of human development in tidal creeks are understood, the effects on juvenile fishes are less studied. Since the tidal creeks of New Hanover County vary in the degree of development and water quality, they are ideally suited to studying these effects. This study focused on comparing the nursery function of creeks varying in degree of development, using Mugil cephalus (striped mullet) and Mugil curema (white mullet) as indicator species. Four tidal creeks, each classified as more (Page’s and Futch Creeks) or less (Bradley and Hewlett’s Creeks) pristine based on impervious surface values, were sampled monthly during the 2008 nursery period. Burnt Mill Creek, with an exceptionally high impervious surface measure, was sampled once for extra comparison. Proximate composition (fat and inorganic content, and Fulton’s K value) was calculated to compare the nutritional content of the mullets among the creeks. It was found that striped and white mullets responded differently to watershed development. Striped mullets were statistically similar across the creeks. White mullets, however, seemed to fare better in the more highly developed creeks, with lower inorganic content and larger sizes.