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Abstract: Non-vegetated creek edges were investigated to explore spatial nekton use patterns in a low salinity intertidal salt marsh creek network of the Yangtze River estuary along a stream-order gradient with four creek orders. Non-vegetated creek edges were arbitrarily defined as the approximately 3 m extending from the creek bank (the marsh–creek interface) into open water. Nekton was sampled using seine nets during daytime high slack water during spring tides for two or three days each in May through July 2008. Twenty-three nekton species (16 fishes and 7 crustaceans) were caught during the study. Fishes were dominated by gobies (Mugilogobius abei, Periophthalmus magnuspinnatus, Periophthalmus modestus, Synechogobius ommaturus), mullets (Chelon haematocheilus, Liza affinis) and Chinese sea bass (Lateolabrax maculatus). Crustaceans were dominated by mud crab (Helice tientsinensis) and white prawn (Exopalaemon carinicauda). Rank abundance curves revealed higher evenness of nekton assemblages in lower-order creeks compared to higher-order creeks. Fish abundance tended to increase with increasing creek order. Crustacean abundance was higher in the first–third order creeks than in the fourth-order creek. Dominant nekton species displayed various trends in abundance and length–frequency distributions along the stream-order gradient. The spatial separation of nekton assemblages between the first–third order creeks and the fourth-order creek could be attributed to geomorphological factors (distance to mouth and cross-sectional area). These findings indicate that both lower- and higher-order creek edges play important yet different roles for nekton species and life history stages in salt marshes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Zooplankton are important grazers of primary production within intertidal marshes and are the optimal prey of higher trophic consumers; however, the patterns of their spatial distribution in marsh creeks are rarely reported. The zooplankton in the intertidal creeks with different salinities at Dongtan marshes of the Yangtze River Estuary was surveyed. The mean zooplankton densities in the intertidal creeks were 53,638ind.m−3 in April and 132,916ind.m−3 in July, respectively, which were as high as in the near-shore subtidal waters of the Yangtze River Estuary. This high abundance implied the important roles of zooplankton in the matter flux between marshes and near-shore waters through complex intertidal creek systems. Zooplankton total densities changed significantly from northern to southern creeks. ANOSIM and CCA analyses revealed that the zooplankton community structure were significantly different among the northern, eastern and southern creeks, and between two sampling seasons. Salinity accounted for most of the spatial variation of zooplankton community, whereas water temperature, chlorophyll a concentration, and pH were the main reasons of the temporal variation observed. Copepods were the most abundant zooplankton group. A total of 24 copepod species, belonging to 15 families and 20 genera, were recorded. Planktonic copepods preferred the northern and eastern creeks, with higher densities in July than in April, while benthic copepods predominated only in the northern creeks in April. Since the role of benthic and planktonic copepods may differ in transporting nutrients in the intertidal creeks, it is suggested that the variations in their distribution may influence the ecological functions of zooplankton in the estuarine matter fluxes both spatially and temporally. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]