YOUNG OF SOME MARINE FISHES IN LOWER CHESAPEAKE BAY, VA. 



81 



pally from April 1 to November l. 4 The months from May to August yielded the 

 most abundant catches, as well as the largest variety of species. "While certain species, 

 such as the blcnny, Hypsoblennius hentz, and the common pipefish, Syrictes fuscus, 

 were generally found widely distributed in the plankton from early spring until late 

 fall, other species, such as the bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, occurred only once. 



: 1 W 



Figure 1.— Entrance to Chesapeake Bay, Va. Circled letters indicate plankton-collecting stations. Depth is given in feet. 



Subsurface collections generally yielded a larger number of fishes than surface tows. 

 Certain species, such as Gobiesox strumosus, however, were taken proportionately 

 more often in surface than in subsurface hauls. Many investigators have found that 

 the surface layers contain few larval fish during the day. Clark (1914), in a study of 

 the larval and postlarval fishes in the vicinity of Plymouth, England, found that night 



* The term "larval" as used in this paper refers to the growth stages of a fish from the time of hatching to the point where the fln 

 rays appear differentiated and the young fish have considerable power of movement. The term "postlarval" refers to the growth stages 

 following the development of the fin rays to a size where all traces of the larval fln fold have disappeared. The terms "larval" and 

 "postlarval" fill a need for differentiating the more or less helpless young of many marine fishes from the juvenile youngwhich have 

 more or less complete control of their movements. 



