Sampling of Nekton and Associated Plants

The engine was turned off once the boat approached the sampling site to minimize disturbance prior to sampling. The boat drifted or was slowly guided to the sampling site by pushing from the stern. One person in the boat either tossed or released the trap from the bow. Immediately after drop sampler deployment, field personnel pushed the sampler approximately 15.0 cm into the sediment to obtain a proper seal along the bottom of the trap and prevent escape of organisms and sample blow-out. Vascular marsh plants enclosed in the sampler were clipped at ground level to assist in animal retrieval. Marsh plants were placed in labeled plastic bags, stored on ice, and returned to the laboratory for processing. Marsh plants were identified and recorded to the lowest possible taxon. Wet weight (kg) was also obtained for species of marsh plant. Afterward, plants were air dried for two months and weighed again in kilograms (kg). The number of culms were also counted for each sample to determine stem densities.