ALLEN: LITTORAL FISH ASSEMBLAGE 



grams (Figs. 7-9), depicting occurrences in the 

 alongshore area or panne during three different 

 time periods (January-March 1978, April-Sep- 

 tember 1978, and October 1978-January 1979). 

 Only species with >5 individuals during each 

 time segment were included in the diagrams. 

 These diagrams illustrate the high degree of sea- 

 sonality within this fish assemblage. 



During the January-March 1978 period of 

 heavy rainfall, members of three species groups 

 (I, II, and V) were present in relatively low abun- 

 dances (Fig. 7). A halocline existed at station 3 

 during this period, and Atherinops affinis was 

 collected only seaward of the halocline at this sta- 

 tion. Representatives of group V, Mugilcephalus 

 juveniles and Lepomis macrochirus, were found 

 associated with very low salinities. Large M. 

 cephalus were observed in both the channel and 

 littoral areas during most of the year. 



The spring-summer period of April-Septem- 

 ber 1978 was characterized by increased water 

 temperatures and salinities, accompanied by in- 

 creased numbers of species and individual fishes 

 (Fig. 8). Green algal beds, composed primarily of 

 Enteromorpha sp., Chaetomorpha linum, and 

 Ulva lobata, developed along the shore of the 

 entire upper bay, and served as a nursery area 

 for large numbers of juvenile fishes. All species 

 groups, except V, were represented during this 

 time. Juveniles of Atherinops affinis occurred in 

 large numbers in the shallows with juvenile 

 Cymatogaster aggregata also being abundant at 

 station 3. Young-of-the-year F. parvipinnis were 

 very abundant in the pannes, especially at sta- 

 tions 1 and 3. 



By October the extensive algal beds had dis- 

 appeared. The October 1978-January 1979 peri- 

 od was marked by decreased number of species 

 and abundance (Fig. 9). The only common spe- 

 cies were members of group I (residents) with a 

 few juvenile M. cephalus representing group V. 



Productivity 



Annual production (mean of three stations by 

 month) of the entire upper Newport Bay was 9.35 

 g D W/m 2 per year (Table 3). Young-of-the-year 

 Atherinops affinis contributed 85.1% to total pro- 

 duction followed by Anchoa compressa (4.9%) 

 and Fundulus parvipinnis (4.2%). 



Productivity was highly seasonal with the 

 spring-summer period (April-September) ac- 

 counting for 75.9% of the total annual production 

 (Table 3, Fig. 10). Productivity, which was very 



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