DISTRIBUTION OF SAND LANCE, AMMODYTES SP., 



LARVAE ON THE CONTINENTAL SHELF FROM 



CAPE COD TO CAPE HATTERAS 



FROM RV DOLPHIN SURVEYS IN 1966 



Sarah W. Richards' and Arthur W. Kendall, Jr.'- 



ABSTRACT 



Postlarvae of one species of sand lance, which rasembled Aiumudytes marinus exactly, 

 were collected along the east coast of the United States between Martha's Vineyard, 

 Mass., and Cape Hatteras, N.C. (lat 41° to 35 °N), in January-February, April, May, and 

 December 1966. They were more abundant in tows taken at night than in tows taken 

 during the day. Recently hatched specimens (4-8 mm) were more abundant in shallow 

 water. Diurnal migrations are probably related to feeding in all larger size groups. 



The greatest abundance of sand lance larvae occurred in winter off the mouths of the 

 principal estuaries (southern New England, Delaware and Chesapeake Bays). Dispersing 

 rapidly offshore, they were taken all the way to the edge of the continental shelf. As 

 they grew, abundance appeared to be directly related to that of plankton organisms, 

 which in turn were somewhat affected by the presence of estuaries along the coast. 

 By mid-May, larvae were not available to us in this region, probably moving to coastal 

 beaches, up into the estuaries, or onto the bottom. 



Sand lances, Ammodytes sp., are found in great 

 abundance on offshore banks, along the coast, 

 and in estuaries from Greenland to Virginia 

 (Richards, Perlmutter, and McAneny. 1963; 

 Scott, 1968). They are important as a food 

 item for both commercial and sport fish, yet 

 the biology of the sand lances of North America 

 is not well known. Postlarval sand lances 

 commonly occur along the southern New Eng- 

 land coast from early December until April 

 (Wheatland, 1956; Richards, 1959, 1965; Pearcy 

 and Richards, 1962; Herman, 1963; Richards 

 et al., 1963; Williams, Richards, and Farnworth, 

 1964). In New Jersey (Croker, 1965), Delaware 

 Bay (de Sylva, Kalber, and Shuster, 1962), and 

 in the region of Chesapeake Bay (Norcross, 

 Massman, and Joseph, 1961), postlarvae occur 

 from January through April. 



' Little Harbor Laboratory, 69 Andrews Road, Guil- 

 ford, CT 06437. 



~ Sandy Hook Laboratory, Middle Atlantic Coastal 

 Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 

 NOAA, Highlands, NJ 07732. 



In 1966, postlarvae were abundant in col- 

 lections from four cruises (January-Febiiiaiy, 

 April, May, and December) made over 12 

 transects between the coast and the edge of 

 the continental shelf from Martha's Vineyard 

 to Cape Hatteras. These collections were made 

 by personnel at the Sandy Hook Marine Laboi'a- 

 tory. Highlands, N.J., as part of a program to 

 determine the extent to which migratory fishes 

 are associated with estuaries during their 

 early life histories. 



METHODS AND MATERIALS 



Details of the design of the RV Dolphin 

 surveys, collecting methods, station positions, 

 and physical data are included in Clark et al. 

 (1969). From December 1965 through December 

 1966, a series of 92 stations on 14 transects, 

 from Martha's Vineyard to Cape Lookout, N.C, 

 were sampled every 6 weeks with two Gulf V 

 plankton nets towed simultaneously for 30 min 

 (Figure 1, Table 1). Where water depth per- 

 mitted, oblique tows were made at two levels: 



Manuscript accepted November 1972. 

 FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 71, NO. 2, 1973. 



371 



