This study area was selected in part because of its proximity to the long-term 

 Sarasota study site (Scott et al. 1990b; Wells 1991). Preliminary studies indicated that 

 a number of distinctively marked dolphins inhabited the region, and at least some 

 were present over a number of years (Irvine and Wells 1972; Wells 1986). The 

 photo-ID research being conducted in the Sarasota (ongoing) and Tampa Bay 

 (through 1993) waters to the north facilitated examination of immigration and 

 emigration. Inclusion of the Charlotte Harbor study area completed a nearly 200 km 

 long section of contiguous coastline for which movement patterns of bortlenose 

 dolphins could be determined. 



The Charlotte Harbor study area provided a unique opportunity for 

 comparison with population rate parameter data collected from the Sarasota study 

 area. Strong similarities among the areas allowed some measure of control for the 

 effects of habitat on population parameters. The Charlotte Harbor study area is a 

 mirror image of the Sarasota study area, in terms of geography. Physiographically, 

 the areas are nearly identical, with bays of shallow seagrass meadows separated from 

 the Gulf of Mexico by long, narrow barrier islands. The bays communicate with the 

 Gulf through narrow passes. Each study area opens at one end into a large deep- 

 water, estuarine embayment, and each is restricted at the opposite end to a narrow, 

 artificially-maintained waterway. Both areas are of similar size. The Charlotte 

 Harbor area is much more nearly pristine than the Sarasota area, however. 



We have divided the 701-km2 study area into five regions for assessment of 

 survey effort (Figure 1). Regions were identified by physiographic and effort criteria. 

 Because of the distances of some parts of the study area from our field stations, it 

 was not possible to survey all of Charlotte Harbor with uniform effort. The 

 segmentation was done in order to be able to quantify effort in different parts of the 

 study area in an attempt to make the within-region effort comparable across years. 



The northernmost section, Region 1, includes Lemon Bay, a shallow bay with 

 a narrow dredged Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) channel and Stump Pass, a variably 

 navigable inlet from the Gulf of Mexico. Water depths range from less than 1 m 

 nearshore to 6 m in the Pass, but generally waters were 2 m or less. Coastal 

 development, primarily residential, was greater in this region than in all others. 

 Region 2 included Gasparilla Sound, Placida Harbor, Gaspanlla Pass, and Bull and 

 Turtle Bays. Waters were generally less than 2 m deep, except for the dredged ICW 

 channel and a basin in Gasparilla Sound, where depths ranged up to 3 m, and 

 Gasparilla Pass, where depths reached 7 m. Bull and Turtle Bays are very shallow, 

 undeveloped, mangrove-fringed bays with extensive coverage by seagrass meadows. 

 Between these bays and Charlotte Harbor to the south is a wide band of shallow 

 waters, less than 2 m deep. Coastal development in this region in general is 

 intermediate between Region 1 and the remaining regions. The next section to the 

 south, Region 3, includes a large inlet, Boca Grande Pass, and the open waters of 

 Charlotte Harbor proper, along with the shallow southeastern coastal waters. Boca 

 Grande Pass is the primary connection between Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf of 

 Mexico, with depths of up to 24 m. Charlotte Harbor is about 3 m to 7 m deep 



