Date of Award
8-28-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Coastal Marine and Wetland Studies
Department
Coastal and Marine Systems Science
College
College of Science
First Advisor
Ryan Rezek
Second Advisor
Angelos Hannides
Third Advisor
Jordan Massie
Additional Advisors
Matthew Kimball
Abstract
Atlantic white (Penaeus setiferus) and brown shrimp (Penaeus aztecus) are ecologically and economically important species in the southeastern United States, supporting coastal food webs and valuable commercial fisheries. To understand their trophic dynamics in the North Inlet-Winyah Bay estuary, we conducted a spatial and temporal analysis using carbon (δ¹³C), nitrogen (δ¹⁵N), and sulfur (δ³⁴S) stable isotopes to evaluate trophic position and basal source contributions across three habitat types (river, bay, and marsh). Linear models were used to evaluate the effects of size (rostrum–carapace length, RCL, in mm), habitat, and species on trophic position, as well as the effects of habitat and species on size. Finally, trophic position and stable isotope mixing model outputs were incorporated into a hypervolume analysis to quantify trophic niche overlap and partitioning. We found that brown shrimp consistently incorporated algal sources, whereas white shrimp incorporated a broad range of vascular plants across each habitat. Both species occupied their lowest trophic levels in the marsh habitat and white shrimp were consistently larger than brown shrimp across every habitat. Finally, hypervolume analysis indicated non-random, low overlap between species, and both species retained large, non-randomly high unique niche fraction. White shrimp also had a marginally larger trophic niche compared to brown shrimp. As climate change could increase temporal overlap in South Carolina estuaries and shift their spatial distributions north, continued investigation of penaeid shrimp food web dynamics is critical for predicting how these species will react to future impacts of climate change.
Recommended Citation
Bryan, Josie, "Spatial Variation in Resource Use and Species-Level Trophic Niches of White and Brown Shrimp in North Inlet–Winyah Bay, South Carolina" (2026). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 257.
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/etd/257