Publication Details
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Distribution and Abundance of Fishes and Invertebrates in Southeast Estuaries
Author(s): Nelson, David M., Elisabeth A. Irlandi, Lawrence R. Settle, Mark E. Monaco and Linda Coston-Clements
NCCOS Center: CCMA
Center Team: Biogeography
Name of Publisher: NOAA/NOS Strategic Environmental Assessments Division
Place of Publication: Rockville, Maryland
Publication Type: NOAA Technical Reports
Date of Publication: 1991
Reference Information:
Extent of Work: 177 pp.
Keywords: southeast U.S. estuaries, Resource and land use, Estuaries, NOAA Fisheries, estuarine fish, estuarine species, distribution and abundance, southeast estuaries
Abstract: This report presents information on the spatial and temporal distribution, relative abundance, and life history characteristics of 40 fish and invertebrate species in 20 estuaries along the Atlantic coast of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Its purpose is to disseminate data developed in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Estuarine Living Marine Resources (ELMR) program (inside front cover). The ELMR program is conducted through a series of joint regional studies by the National Ocean Service (NOS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The presence, distribution, and relative abundance of each species' life stage, and the time period it utilizes each estuary are the primary data compiled. The data and framework presented are illustrative of the nationwide ELMR program. Similar reports have been published for nine estuaries in Texas (Monaco et al. 1989), thirteen estuaries along the Gulf coast of Florida and Alabama (Williams et al. 1990), nine estuaries in Louisiana and Mississippi (Czapla et al. 1990), and 32 estuaries on the west coast of California, Oregon, and Washington (Monaco et al. 1990).
The objective of the ELMR program is to develop a consistent data base on the distribution, abundance, and life history characteristics of important fishes and invertebrates in the Nation's estuaries. The Nation-wide data base is divided into four study regions (Figure 1). The data base contains the relative abundance and monthly occurrence of each species' life stage by estuary for three salinity zones (seawater, mixing, and tidal fresh) identified in NOAA's National Estuarine Inventory (NEI) Data Atlas-Volume I (NOAA 1985). When completed, the entire data base will contain information of 135 fish and invertebrate species found in ca. 117 U.S. estuaries.
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