Miller et al.: Distribution, abundance, and growth oi Micropogonias undulatus 



113 



length-frequency data from Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana 

 (Suttkus, 1955), indicated a constant but slow growth rate 

 of 0.3 rrtm/d from February to September 1954, and no 

 increase in growth rate during the summer As a result 

 of the above, it appears that growth rates may be faster, 

 and thus countergradient in more northern populations, 

 as suggested for Menidia (Conover and Present, 1990), but 

 care should be taken in interpreting growth rates from the 

 literature, especially those based on modal progression. 



Egress 



Young-of-the-year Atlantic croaker have a regular pattern 

 of egress out of tidal creeks and estuaries in the MAB 

 during the late summer and fall after reaching lengths 

 of about 100-250 mm. As we observed in the Delaware 

 Bay system, the majority left the marsh creeks from 

 August to October at lengths <200 mm. The larger indi- 

 viduals appeared to leave the marshes first, as has been 

 observed elsewhere (Haven, 1957; Yakupzack et al., 1977), 

 and almost all had left by November. However, the CPUE 

 increased in Delaware Bay in October of both years, and 

 this may have been caused by fish egressing out of the 

 marshes into the bay. Large individuals remained in 

 Delaware Bay longer than in the marshes and substantial 

 numbers of fish 150-300 mm were present in the bay in 

 September and October This finding suggests that egress 

 from the tidal creeks caused the disappearance of Atlantic 

 croaker there, and not gear avoidance, because large fish 

 continued to be caught in the bay. The exact timing of 

 egress of the majority of Atlantic croaker out of the bay is 

 unclear due to lack of sampling throughout the bay after 

 October However, previous collections in Delaware Bay 

 have shown no evidence of any individual >100 mm from 

 November to March (Able and Fahay, 1998), suggesting 

 that egress out of the bay is finished by November in some 

 years. The same pattern of egress out of nursery habitats 

 in the fall has been observed in Chesapeake Bay (Haven, 

 1957), but in some years there were substantial numbers 

 offish present into November (Chao and Musick, 1977). 

 Very few of each year class reappear in collections during 

 the spring and summer of the next year in either Chesa- 

 peake or Delaware bays (Haven, 1957; Chao and Musick, 

 1977; Able and Fahay, 1998) and therefore the fate of these 

 individuals is unknown. 



Fall egress also occurs out of estuaries in the South At- 

 lantic Bight and the Gulf of Mexico, but in contrast to the 

 Chesapeake and Delaware bays, more Atlantic croaker ap- 

 pear to either remain through the winter or re-enter these 

 habitats in some areas in late winter or early spring. In 

 North Carolina, egress out of tidal creeks was mostly com- 

 pleted by November, but this same year class was present 

 again as age-1 fish in the bays in March, April, and May 

 when sampling resumed (Ross, 1988). A similar pattern 

 of egress from estuaries was observed in South Carolina, 

 but the reappearance of age-1 fish in February was even 

 more prominent and they continued to be collected until 

 fall (Bearden, 1964). In the Gulf of Mexico, some age-1 fish 

 have been observed to remain in estuarine habitats for an 

 additional year in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana (Suttkus, 



1955), or reappear from January to April after leaving the 

 study area in December in coastal Texas (Pearson, 1929). 



In summary, this study presents the first compre- 

 hensive examination of YOY Atlantic croaker seasonal- 

 ity and habitat use in Delaware Bay and the adjacent 

 marshes. Although patterns of habitat use and season- 

 ality are similar along the east coast, some divergence 

 from the seasonal patterns in Delaware Bay are evident 

 in estuaries in the South Atlantic Bight and the Gulf 

 of Mexico. Growth estimates appear to be the most di- 

 vergent of any characteristics examined — faster growth 

 rates occurring in the more northern estuaries such as 

 Delaware Bay. 



Acknowledgments 



Numerous individuals from the Rutgers University 

 Marine Field Station participated in the field sampling 

 or helped with data analysis. We would particularly like 

 to thank Ralph Bush, Bertrand Lemasson, Steven Teo, 

 and James Chitty. John Balletto and Ken Strait provided 

 background information and logistical support. Jonathan 

 Sharp provided data on sediments in Delaware Bay. 

 Financial support was provided by the Estuary Enhance- 

 ment Program of Public Service Enterprise Group. 



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