<p>White croaker (<i>Genyonemus lineatus</i>) are a sentinel fish species for contamination due to their direct interaction with contaminated sediments through benthic foraging. White croaker within the Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbor exhibited hierarchical habitat selection: avoiding dredged areas while selecting for areas of high sediment total organic carbon (4.8–8.1%), high polychaete density (406–700 polychaetes/0.1 m<sup>2</sup>), and small sediment grain size (<23.5 µm). Model results suggest that these fish are moving into shallower waters at night to forage and may refuge more during the day to avoid predation. The predictive model for white croaker habitat use indicated three important areas of use within the LA-LB Harbor: Consolidated Slip, Inner LB Harbor, and Fish Harbor. The areas containing the most preferable habitat to white croaker are also areas of high sediment contamination, and thus are the likely locations where these fish are acquiring contaminants. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1591586 |
| Date | 07 July 2015 |
| Creators | Ahr, Bonnie J. |
| Publisher | California State University, Long Beach |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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