DOI: 10.5061/dryad.6hdr7srdn
title: Hydrological connection links zooplankton communities and improves juvenile Chinook salmon growth in intertidal wetlands

description: Many once coupled habitats are now disconnected due to human
 infrastructure that prevents not only the transfer of organisms but also
 fundamental ecosystem processes. Here we investigate the importance of
 hydrologic connectivity between remnant floodplain and freshwater
 intertidal marsh habitats for zooplankton metacommunity dynamics and
 juvenile Chinook salmon growth in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,
 California, U.S.A. Hydrological connection led to highly similar
 zooplankton communities between habitats. Further, we found that connected
 intertidal marsh habitats had approximately twice the total abundance of
 zooplankton of upstream floodplains and, in some cases, 15 times greater
 abundance than during disconnection. Gut content analysis demonstrated
 that salmon in our study utilized these abundant and high-value
 zooplankton food resources which likely contributed to elevated juvenile
 salmon growth rates in connected intertidal marsh habitats, where salmon
 had 25% greater growth rates (mm day-1) than those reared in disconnected
 marsh habitats. Additionally, salmon growth rates and condition factors
 were, in some instances, greater in connected intertidal habitats than
 upstream floodplains. These results provide strong evidence for the
 importance of connectivity for meta-community dynamics as well as
 productivity in historically coupled ecosystems and provide important
 information for future management and restoration.
description: # Hydrological connection links zooplankton communities and improves
 juvenile Chinook salmon growth in intertidal wetlands
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c866t1gh1](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c866t1gh1) ## Description of the data and file structure This data was collected from 2019 -2020 in the California Delta; specifically in the Yolo Bypass, a restored intertidal marsh in Liberty Island, the Cosumnes River floodplain, and a intertidal marsh downstream of the Cosumnes River floodplains. Data includes water quality, zooplankton, and juvenile Chinook salmon growth data. **wq.csv** - water quality data. NAs refer to when samples were not taken due to equipment malfunction, or in the case of time when collection times were not recorded. Site = location of collection, zooplankton at generic and family level, Temp_C = temperature degrees Celsius, EC = electrical conductivity uS/cm, SPC = specific electrical conductivity uS/cm, TDS = total dissolved solids mg/L, Sal=salinity PSU, DO_prcnt = dissolved oxygen percent, DO_mg_L = dissolved oxygen mg/L, Turb = turbidity NTUs, BGA = blue green algea chlorophyl a, Ave_POC = average POC mg/L, Chl_ug_L = chlorophyll a concentration micrograms/L, Ch_C = chlorophyl carbon mg/L, c_chlaC= ratio of POC to Chl.a carbon. **zoop_wq.csv** - average zooplankton abundance and water quality data for each site visit. NAs refer to when samples were not taken due to equipment malfunction. Site = location of collection, zooplankton at generic and family level, Temp_C = temperature degrees Celsius, EC = electrical conductivity uS/cm, SPC = specific electrical conductivity uS/cm, TDS = total dissolved solids mg/L, Sal=salinity PSU, DO_prcnt = dissolved oxygen percent, DO_mg_L = dissolved oxygen mg/L, Turb = turbidity NTUs, BGA = blue green algea chlorophyl a, Ave_POC = average POC mg/L, Ch_C = chlorophyl carbon mg/L, c_chlaC= ratio of POC to Chl.a carbon. **zoop_raw.csv** - raw zooplankton collection, abundance, and taxonomic information. Site = Location of collection, Date = date mm/dd/Y, FlowMeterBegin = initial flow meter rotation number (note 0 was used for throwing method), FlowMeterEnd = end flow meter rotation number (note 744.24 was used for throws to account for distance of 4 throws at 5 meters), RingSize_cm = size of zooplankton net ring, SplitFraction = fraction of sample used for subsampling, TotalVolume_ml = total volume in beaker used for subsampling, Volumesubsampled = total volume subsampled to reach 250 total individuals, Phylum - Species = taxonomic information, LifeStage = life stage, abundance = number of individuals counted per sub sample. **fish_data.csv** - Cage = fish cage assignment per site, Ave_t0_FL = average initial fork length (mm), FL_mm = finale fork length (mm), wt_g = final weight (g), Days = days reared in cage, Growth_Rate_mmper_Day = calculated growth rate, NA = missing data **fish_gut_contents.csv** - fish stomach contents. Site - location of collection, Fork Length (mm) - fish fork length, Phylum - Species = taxonomic information, LifeStage = life stage of invertebrate, Abundance = number of individual counted from stomach.