DAHLBERG: ECOLOGICAL STUDY OF GEORGIA COASTAL FISHES 



Table 1. — Continued. 



Sapelo Island Beach — Cont. 



Semiaquatic invertebrates— CAca pugnax, Sisarma, U. pugilator. 



Aquatic invertebrates that v^ere seined, in decreasing order of abundance— Pi2/a<rmon;<« pugio, white shrimp, blue crab, Palaemonetes vulgaris, brown 

 shrimp. 



Riceboro Creek irt vicinity of U.S. Highway 17 ( oligohaline ) 



Salinity-Range was to 13.6%,, and average was Z.Q%c for 1968-70. 



Temperature-Range was 3.5° to 30.5''C and average was 21.2°C for 1968-70. 



Aquatic plants— Sparfina alterniflora, Juncus roemerianus, wa\er\/vory (Elatine americana), spike-rush (Eleocharis acicularia), Iva jrutescens, Spartina 



cynosuroides, sow grass (Cladium jamaicense), groundsel-free (Baccharus halimijolia) , arrowhead (Sagittaria), SNa\er hemlock (Cicuta maculata), 

 Jussiaea sp., Scirpus robustus, Scirpus sp., salt grass (Distichlis spicata), mock bishop-weed (Ptilimnium capillaceum) , sedge (Cyperus virens), and 

 beak rush (Rhynchospora sp.). 



Invertebrates of lower Riceboro Creek, in decreasing order of abundance in net collections— Pa/a^mon^iir/ pugio, blue crab, white shrimp, Rhithropanopius 

 harrisi,and brown shrimp. Other invertebrates of lower Riceboro Creek, reported in Heard and Heard (1971)1 and Heard and Sikora (In press) 

 include crabs (Uca minax, and Sesarma cinereum), amphipods (Corophium sp., Orchestia grillus, O. uhleri, Gammarus tigrinus, Corophium lacustre, 

 and Melita nitida), isopods (Cyathura polita, Cassidinidea lunifrons, Munna reynoldsi, Sphaeroma destructor, and Ligia exotica), tanaid (Leptochelia), 

 barnacle (Balanus improvisus), polychaetes (Namalycastis abiuma, and Nereis succinea), gastropods (Littoridinops tenuipes, Hydrobia, Detracia floridana, 

 and Melampus bidentatus), clams (Cyrenoidea floridana, and Polymesoda carolinae). 



Tidal canal 



Salinity-Range was 0.3 to 23.2%<,. 



Temperature— Range was 8.0° in February 1968 to 30.1°C in August 1967. 



Aquatic plants— /fa frutescens, Borrichia jrutescens, Spartina alterniflora, Juncus roemerianus, glossworf (Salicornia virginica), and Distichlis spicata. 



Semiaquatic invertebrates— i/ca minax, U. pugilator, and Sesarma sp. 



Aquatic invertebrotes seined, listed in decreasing order of abundance— /"a/aifmon^fw pugio, white shrimp, blue crab, and brown shrimp. 



Low-salinity tidal pools 



Salinity— Range was to 24.4^< 



Temperature-Range was 7.3° (January 1970) to 28.2°C (September 1969). 



Marsh plonts-'Sparh'na atternijtora, Juncus roemerianus, Salicornia virginica, Eleocharis sp., Bacopa monnieri, aster (Aster tenuijolius) , Distichlis spicata, 



Scirpus sp., and Iva jrutescens. 

 Semiaquatic invertebrates— t/ca minax, U. pugilator, and Sesarma sp. 

 Aquatic invertebrates— Pa/afmon^t^; pugio, and blue crab (juvenile). 



High-salinity tidal pools 



Salinity— Range was 14.7 to 34%o in "east pools" and 13.1 to 30.3%c in "west pools." 



Temperature— Range was 8°C in January and February to 32°C in July, August, and September. 



Marsh plants along road bank— /fa jrutescens, Borrichia jrutescens, Baccharus halimijolia, B. angustijolia - false willow. 



Marsh plants occurring below rood bonk in the marsh— 'Spard'na alterniflora, Juncus roemerianus, Salicornia virginica, Distichlis spicata, Batis maritima, and 



Aster tenuijolius. 

 Semiaquatic invertebrates— Sfjarma sp., Uca pugnax, U. pugilator, and U. minax (uncommon). 

 Aquatic invertebrates seined, listed in decreasing order of abundance— Pa/acmon^/^j pugio, blue crab, whit© shrimp, and brown shrimp. 



'■ Heard, R. W., Jr., and E. J. Heard. 1971. Notes on the natural history and invertebrate fauna of the Upper North Newport River. In An eco- 

 logical survey of the North and South Newport Rivers and adjacent waters with respect to 'possible effects of treated kraft mill effluent, p. 234-246. 

 Unpublished report to Georgia Water Quality Control Board from University of Georgia Marine Institute, Sapelo Island. 



Figure 1 illustrates the estuarine complex that 

 was studied, with the exception of the freshwater 

 and Sapelo Island stations. Figure 2 gives lo- 

 cations of stations in the upper part of the North 

 Newport River and oligohaline region in relation 

 to the paper mill (station G), creeks, marsh, 

 railroad, highway, and proposed expressway. 



An estuary ranges from the oligohaline creeks 

 to the sounds and barrier islands. Ocean beaches 

 are generally not considered as part of the es- 

 tuary even though the outflow from estuaries, 

 at least in Georgia, affects beaches and ofl^shore 

 areas where the highly turbid and productive 

 estuarine waters are visible to several miles 



offshore. This study attempts to evaluate the eco- 

 logical importance of the following seven estu- 

 arine habitats and adjoining beach and fresh- 

 water habitats to coastal fish populations. The 

 habitat divisions are somewhat arbitrary as they 

 are ail interrelated parts of a single aquatic 

 ecosystem along the coast. 



Habitat 1: Sapelo Island Beach (Figure 3) . — 

 This station is the ocean beach on Sapelo Island 

 and is known locally as Nannygoat Beach. This 

 beach extends between Dean Creek at the south 

 end and a lagoon (Big Hole) that separates the 

 north end of this beach from Cabretta Island. 

 Most samples were taken in the surf zone near 



325 



