The presence of an invasive macrophyte (Phragmites australis) does not influence juvenile fish habitat use in a freshwater estuary

I evaluated the short-term influence of the presence of the invasive macrophyte Phragmites australis on fish use in Old Woman Creek, a freshwater estuary connected intermittently to Lake Eric in northcentral Ohio. With minnow traps, trap nets, and light traps I sampled juvenile fish in two areas of the estuary, one dominated by P. australis and the other dominated by a native macrophyte, narrow-leaved cattail (Typha angustifolia). The number of fish species present and the total number of individuals were similar in each habitat, indicating that habitat use by fish was not influenced by the presence of P. australis.