124 NORSE 



Interspecific Agonism 



Male Jamaican Callinectes of varied known sizes were placed in a 

 fenced-off "arena" in a concrete seawater table, and each crab's 

 retreats from approach, display by, or contact with each individual 

 of the other species were tallied. When agonism in the arena 

 diminished, increasing concentrations of conch, fish, and crab 

 extracts were added to increase agonistic activity. Only repeatedly 

 decisive results were considered a victory for one of the combatants. 



AREA DESCRIPTIONS 



The Pacific Colombian coastal state of Cauca has an extensive 

 depositional shoreline. Rainfall is very heavy, particularly on the 

 western range of the Andes, which peak about 80 km inland. Many 

 mangrove-lined rivers pour enormous amounts of freshwater into the 

 turbid sea overlying the gently sloping continental shelf. The Pacific 

 coast of Panama (the coastal areas of the Canal Zone and Taboga 

 Island) has considerable rain but is much less affected by upland 

 rainfall and has less freshwater mixing with the turbid shelf waters 

 than the Colombian coast. The northern Gulf of California, in the 

 San Felipe, Baja California Norte, and Puerto Pehasco, Sonora, areas 

 of Mexico, has clearer, shghtly hypersaline waters over the gently 

 sloping shelf, but there is very little freshwater input in this desert 

 area. 



In contrast, inshore areas in Jamaica have varied aquatic climates. 

 The island is mountainous and fairly wet, but, where permanent and 

 temporary streams are few, coastal waters are oceanic in character, 

 particularly on the steeply sloping, coral-reef-fringed north coast. 

 The Caribbean Colombian coast has adjacent areas of markedly 

 different aerial and aquatic climate. The area of Cienaga Grande de 

 Santa Marta, a large estuarine lake, is a fairly wet, depositional coast. 

 To the east, near the city of Santa Marta, the edges of a very tall, 

 isolated mountain massif slope steeply into the sea. Since the aerial 

 climate is semiarid, coastal waters are largely oceanic. Curagao is a 

 geologically complex semiarid island; oceanic waters abut both 

 coasts, which are indented by protected, turbid bays that lack 

 permanent freshwater input. In the fairly wet Miami area, the Oleta 

 River, which has intermittent flow, empties into Biscayne Bay, a 

 large, culturally stressed shallow bay. Shore areas may be estuarine, 

 but the central and eastern parts usually have little seawater dilution. 

 The keys are emergent points on the eastern edge of the Florida 

 plateau. Although they receive moderate rainfall, their small size, 



