1. Behavioral changes in fishes and crabs in contaminated estuaries Predator/prey alterations could have consequences for birds Judith S. Weis Rutgers University

2. Collection Sites Piles Creek (PC) Polluted Site - Linden, NJ Great Bay-Mullica River Estuary (TK) Cleaner Reference Site- Tuckerton, NJ

3. Sites Piles Creek (PC) Polluted Site - Linden, NJ Surrounded by industrial sites, a sewage treatment plant, and a major highway. Elevated levels of organic contaminants and metals have been found in sediments and biota.

4. Collection Sites Great Bay-Mullica River Estuary (TK) Cleaner Reference Site- Tuckerton, NJ part of the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve, part of 3,500 acres of protected salt marsh.

5. BACKGROUND MUMMICHOGS (KILLIFISH, FUNDULUS HETEROCLITUS) FROM CONTAMINATED PILES CREEK ARE RESISTANT TO METHYLMERCURY, BUT RESISTANCE IS RESTRICTED TO GAMETES AND EMBRYONIC STAGES AS ADULTS, THEY DO NOT GROW AS WELL OR LIVE AS LONG AS FISH FROM CLEANER ENVIRONMENT ALTERED FEEDING BEHAVIOR MAY PLAY A ROLE – COMPARE FEEDING WITH THAT OF TUCKERTON (CLEAN) FISH

7. FEEDING EFFICIENCY OF PC AND TK FISH PC TK STRIKES/PURSUIT 1.93 + 0.62 1.85 + 0.10 STRIKES/KILL 10.38 + 10.06 6.71 + 8.66 STRIKES/FISH/MIN 0.55 + 0.52 0.97 + 0.51* * P < 0.05 X + SD

8. NUMBER OF F. HETEROCLITUS EATEN BY BLUE CRABS OVER 14 DAYS ORIGIN OF FISH # EATEN #NOT EATEN TOTAL PC 23 7 30 TK 12 19 30

11. PREDATOR AVOIDANCE COMPARE SURVIVAL OF PC AND TK FISH WITH BLUE CRAB (CALLINECTES SAPIDUS) PREDATORS

13. NUMBER OF F. HETEROCLITUS EATEN BY BLUE CRABS OVER 14 DAYS ORIGIN OF FISH # EATEN #NOT EATEN TOTAL PC 23 7 30 TK 12 19 30 More contaminated fish are more likely to be eaten by predator, and pass contaminants up the food chain.

14. Blue Crabs- Callinectes sapidus Prey capture ability of adults from TK and contaminated Hackensack Meadowlands Compare predator avoidance ability of juveniles from TK and HM w. adult blue crab predators Jessica Reichmuth

15. Capture of Juvenile Blue Crab Prey Capture time (hrs) Adult Capture of Juvenile Blue Crab Prey Time to capture 2 of 4 juveniles

16. Capture of Mummichog Prey # mummichogs eaten

17. Capture of Mussel Prey Total Wet Weight (g) Eaten Capture of Mussel Prey

18. Capture of Fiddler Crab Prey Total # of fiddler crabs eaten

19. HM Stomachs TK Stomachs Field: Stomach Contents

20. HM Transplants to TK or fed clean TK food in the lab: Capture of juvenile blue crabs Time to consume 50% prey (hrs) A BB

21. TK Transplants to HM or fed HM food (killifish) in lab: capture of juvenile blue crabs Time to consume 50% prey (hrs) A B C Reichmuth et al. ’09 Estuar Coast.

22. Predator Avoidance Results Total # survivors Predator (adult Blue Crab) Avoidance by Juveniles

23. Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) studies: A temporary resident Allison Candelmo Spawn in the ocean and then move into estuaries in the spring. Spend critical periods of growth and development during first summer before going to the ocean for the winter What happens when they spend this first summer in contaminated estuaries?

24. Trophic Transfer Experiments Collect 60 YOY bluefish from Tuckerton in early summer as they enter the estuary Feed frozen and live Brevoortia and Fundulus from either Hackensack or Tuckerton (control) for 4 months in the laboratory Quantify feeding and swimming activity Sacrifice fish and length and weight recorded Analyze Laboratory bluefish for PCBs and Hg

25. Feeding experiments after eating TK or HM food for 4 months TKfed - up to 5x faster Consumption rate TKfed - up to 2x more food consumed

26. a b Swimming activity Poorer schooling – more milling about – would make them more susceptible to predation Candelmo et al. 2010 Est. Coasts

27. Size Distribution

28. PCB levels in mummichogs (Fh) and menhaden (Bt) from bluefish stomachs vs collected in nets

29. Field Bluefish in Hackensack Smaller than at Tuckerton in the fall when it is time to migrate back to the ocean Most with empty stomachs Contaminants like PCBs and mercury are biomagnified in bluefish over levels in their prey. Fish with higher levels of contaminants are more impaired, more likely to be captured and transfer more contaminants to predators such as birds.