Distribution and Use of Shallow-Water Habitats by Pacific Sand Lances in Southeastern Alaska

Abstract

The Pacific sand lance Ammodytes hexapterus is an important prey species, but little is known about its distribution and habitat use, especially among early life stages in southeastern Alaska. To address this information need, we examined the distribution and habitat use of Pacific sand lances by sampling a variety of shallow-water habitats (depth < 6 m) with a beach seine seasonally throughout southeastern Alaska from 1998 to 2006. An estimated 81,939 Pacific sand lances were captured at 31 of 49 locations and in 109 of 610 seine hauls. Total catch and percent frequency of occurrence (FO; [number of seine hauls with Pacific sand lances/total number of hauls] × 100) was greatest in summer (73,033 fish, FO = 21%), followed by spring (8,857 fish, 18%) and winter (49 fish, 1%). Pacific sand lances were captured in all habitat types; total catch in spring ranged from 16 fish in understory kelp (e.g., Laminariales) to 8,525 fish in bedrock outcrops, whereas total catch in summer ranged from 5,858 fish in sand to 54,851 fish in eelgrass Zostera marina. The FO was relatively consistent among the above habitat types and ranged from 15% to 20% in spring and from 15% to 35% in summer. Pacific sand lances use a variety of shallow-water habitats for at least 4 months in spring and summer; habitat is not limited to sandy substrates for burrowing but also includes bedrock, eelgrass, and kelp as likely foraging areas. Age-1 and younger Pacific sand lances dominated our catches; size range of captured fish was 39-168 mm fork length. The importance of Pacific sand lances in the diets of other fishes, seabirds, and marine mammals justifies the need to better understand, protect, and manage habitats that are essential to Pacific sand lances.