Boycott the S.T.A.R.: Gafftop condition points to problems in the Calcasieu Lake
I know few people appreciate gafftops as much as I do, but the condition of gafftops serve as a useful bioindicator of the health of the estuary. Being dominantly a bottom feeder and spending more time in the lake than in the marsh, considering the body condition of gafftops is useful in assessing whether the bigger issues impacting the lake originate in the lake or the marsh and whether they impact species higher or lower in the water column.
Think of a gafftop as a sentinel organism whose relative condition factor can be used to determine how much forage is available lower in the water column. The attached graph shows that gafftops, especially the longer length classes, are having a hard time maintaining healthy body condition over the study period (2011 - 2013).
|