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Benthic algae chlorophyll measurements for Rowley River tidal creeks associated with long term fertilization experiments, Rowley and Ipswich, MA. 

At PIE, mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) use the spring-cycle high tides to access the flooded high marsh platform and eat invertebrate prey, coupling the high marsh and aquatic creek food webs by gathering energy produced on the high marsh and making it available to the aquatic food web. Changes in the geomorphology of saltmarsh creek edges greatly influence the survival, biomass, and resource use of mummichog populations. Here, we capture animals using Breder traps to quantify the communities accessing the high marsh at night during one of these high tides in July 2018 across 3 PIE creeks known to present different geomorphologic patterns in their low marsh zones. These data can be used for the assessment of the impact of low marsh geomorphology on consumer communities in PIE marshes. Mummichog captured in these Breder traps were further analyzed for gut content (LTE-TIDE-BrederTrap-GutContents). These data were included in part of the study “Habitat decoupling via saltmarsh creek geomorphology alters connection between spatially-coupled food webs” (Lesser et al. 2020) and were a portion of an MBL REU project. 

At PIE, mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) use the spring-cycle high tides to access the flooded high marsh platform and eat invertebrate prey, coupling the high marsh and aquatic creek food webs by gathering energy produced on the high marsh and making it available to the aquatic food web. Changes in the geomorphology of saltmarsh creek edges greatly influence the survival, biomass, and resource use of mummichog populations. Here, we use bomb calorimetry to assess individual mummichog caloric content per gram of biomass at 4 PIE creeks known to present different geomorphologic patterns in their low marsh zones. These data can be used for the assessment of the impact of low marsh geomorphology on mummichog caloric content and energy production in PIE food webs. These data were included as part of two studies “Habitat decoupling via saltmarsh creek geomorphology alters connection between spatially-coupled food webs” (Lesser et al. 2020) and “Cross-habitat access modifies the ‘trophic relay’ in New England saltmarsh ecosystems” (Lesser et al. 2021). 

At PIE, mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) use the spring-cycle high tides to access the flooded high marsh platform and consume invertebrate prey. Invertebrate surveys were conducted before and after spring tides that flooded the high marsh area to determine the effect of mummichog predation that occurs on the high marsh during the flood events and to assess the impact of low marsh geomorphology on top-down control by mummichog. These data were included in part of the study "Cross-habitat access modifies the ‘trophic relay’ in New England saltmarsh ecosystems” (Lesser et al. 2021) as well as a part of a NEU Three Seas Master's thesis. 

At PIE, mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) use the spring-cycle high tides to access the flooded high marsh platform and eat invertebrate prey, coupling the high marsh and aquatic creek food webs by gathering energy produced on the high marsh and making it available to the aquatic food web. Changes in the geomorphology of saltmarsh creek edges greatly influence the survival, biomass, and resource use of mummichog populations. Here we use gut content analysis assess the diet of mummichog on the high marsh platform during a flooding spring-cycle tide in July 2018 across 3 PIE creeks known to present different geomorphologic patterns in their low marsh zones. These data allow us to quantify the amount of terrestrial invertebrate prey mummichog consume on a single flooding tide and determine the impact altered low marsh geomorphology has on the trophic relationships in PIE food webs. These mummichog were captured in Breder traps; information about the consumer communities captured in these traps was recorded separately (LTE-TIDE-BrederTrap-Demographics). These data were included in part of the study “Habitat decoupling via saltmarsh creek geomorphology alters connection between spatially-coupled food webs” (Lesser et al. 2020) and were a portion of an MBL REU project. 

The lift traps were used to capture mummichogs accessing the high marsh platform. Mummichogs were collected to study the effect of marsh-edge geomorphology on mummichog distribution and foraging. The TIDE project aims to simulate eutrophication on a large scale by the addition of NO3- aiming to reach 70μM concentrations from May to September every year during the growing season. This fertilization of the marsh has been going on at Sweeney Creek since the 2004 growing season through 2016 and at Clubhead Creek in 2005 and from 2009 till 2016. Years 2017-2020 are enrichment recovery years. 

The flume nets were deployed with the purpose of capturing salt marsh nekton. Nekton species were identified to the lowest taxonomic level using species keys. The TIDE project aims to simulate eutrophication on a large scale by the addition of NO3- aiming to reach 70μM concentrations from May to September every year during the growing season. This fertilization of the marsh has been going on at Sweeney Creek since the 2004 growing season through 2016 and at Clubhead Creek in 2005 and from 2009 till 2016. Years 2017-2020 are enrichment recovery years. 

The flume nets were deployed with the purpose of capturing salt marsh nekton. Nekton species were identified to the lowest taxonomic level using species keys. The TIDE project aims to simulate eutrophication on a large scale by the addition of NO3- aiming to reach 70μM concentrations from May to September every year during the growing season. This fertilization of the marsh has been going on at Sweeney Creek since the 2004 growing season through 2016 and at Clubhead Creek in 2005 and from 2009 till 2016. Years 2017-2020 are enrichment recovery years. 

To assess differences in trophic relationships and enerygy transfer related to long term fertilization of tidal creeks (TIDE Project: https://thetideproject.org/), organisms including primary producers, invertebrates, and fish were sampled and analyzed for stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ14N) , carbon (δ13C), and sulfur (δ34S). Collections were made during summers from 2000-2018 from reference and nutrient-enriched branches of 4 tidal creeks. 

Marsh plant species shoot height, weight and diameters for Rowley River tidal creeks associated with long term fertilization experiments, Rowley and Ipswich, MA. The TIDE project aims to simulate eutrophication on a large scale by the addition of NO3- aiming to reach 70μM concentrations from May to September every year during the growing season. This fertilization of the marsh has been going on at Sweeney Creek since the 2004 growing season through 2012 and at Clubhead Creek in 2005 and from 2009 till 2019.