Population expansion and migration and technological development have 

 placed additional stress on many estuaries. The authors encourage 

 rational and effective efforts to live in harmony with the complex and 

 sensitive ecosystems of these valuable but fragile areas. (B.W.) 



Keywords: estuaries, aquatic ecosystems, bacteria, phytoplankton, 

 zooplankton, fishes, U.S. coastal regions 



C. Area Studies 



IV-C-1 



Caillouet, C.W. 1970. Commercial and recreational fishery resources 



of estuarine waters, southern United States. Pages 44-48 ijx W.G. Weist, 

 Jr., ed., Hydrobiology. American Water Resources Association. 



The report briefly examines the relationship between the most 

 important commercial and recreational fishery resources and the 

 estuarine environment of the southern states. These states include 

 the coastal states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, 

 Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. 



Gunter estimated that nearly 98 percent of the commercial catch 

 of the Gulf States is made up of estuarine species. Most motile 

 estuarine animals of the Gulf Coast have similar life histories. 

 Adults spawn in the Gulf and larvae make their way into the estuaries. 

 The young develop in the estuaries and return to the sea. The 

 American oyster will apparently live and reproduce at seawater 

 salinities, but it grows, lives, and reproduces best under estuarine 

 conditions. The shrimp resource is also dependent on the estuaries, 

 which provide nursery areas and sometimes support adult populations. 



Odum found that the principal source of food for the aquatic 

 animal community is vascular plant detritus originating primarily 

 from red mangrove leaves. Certain omnivorous estuarine organisms 

 ingest detritus forming a link between detritus production and 

 production of higher consumers. Both commercial and sport fishes 

 utilize this intermediate group of omnivores as food. The most 

 valuable commercial species, Penaeus spp. shrimp, ingest the 

 detritus directly. (B.W.) 



Keywords: fishery resources, estuarine areas, detritus, U.S. South 

 Atlantic and Gulf coasts 



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