seasonal residents, and occasional 

 migrants. Permanent residents are 

 typically small and inconspicuously 

 matched to the seagrass background. 

 Among the more noteworthy are the 

 emerald clingfish ( Acytrops beryl- 

 lina ) , and the pipefishes and sea 

 horses (family Synqnathidae ) . 



The inshore lizard fish ( Synodus 

 foetens ) and the pinfish ( Laqodon 

 rhomboides ) are also commonly found 

 in Florida Bay grass beds. 



Seasonal residents in grass 

 beds generally spend their juvenile 

 or sub-adult stage in this habitat, 

 utilizing it as a nursery ground. 

 Among the more common seasonal resi- 

 dents are spotted sea trout ( Cynos - 

 cion nebulosus ) , spot ( Leiostomus 

 xanthurus ), silver perch ( Bairdella 

 chrysura ) , and pigfish ( Orthopristis 

 chrysopterus ) . Generally the snap- 

 pers and grunts prefer clearer 

 waters and most likely occur in 

 greatest numbers closest to the 

 Florida Keys. 



The occasional migrants include 

 large carnivores from offshore that 

 only rarely visit the grassbeds. 

 Tabb and Manning (1961) present the 

 most site specific listing of fishes 

 from Florida Bay, although spatial 

 coverage of their data is restric- 

 ted. Schmidt (1976) presents quan- 

 titative fish inventories from a 

 number of stations in western Flor- 

 ida Bay. 



Although it has not been exten- 

 sively documented, the fish found 

 along the northern fringes of Flori- 

 da Bay probably reflect a relatively 

 greater mangrove influence than 

 toward the Keys or the gulf. The 

 euryhaline marsh and mangrove pond 

 species such as the Poeciliids 

 (sailfin molly, mosquito fish) and 

 the Cyprinodonts (killifishes) are 

 most commonly present if only on a 



seasonal basis. Judging from the 

 prevalence of nesting wading birds 

 utilizing northern Florida Bay, the 

 area is most certainly rich in the 

 fish, shellfish, and insects upon 

 which they depend. Tabb and Manning 

 (1961) report many of these mangrove 

 related fish species occurring along 

 the fringes of northern Florida Bay. 

 Consistent with this gradational 

 hypothesis, Hudson et al. (1970) 

 report 64 species of fishes from a 

 basin in central Florida Bay, many 

 of which are mainland mangrove 

 associates, and many of which are 

 not reported by Tabb and Manning 

 (1961). 



Schmidt (1976) reports 109 spe- 

 cies of fish from 8 western Florida 

 Bay stations compared to 106 species 

 reported by Tabb and Manning ( 1961 ) . 

 Of these two totals, 16 from Tabb 

 and Manning (1961) were not reported 

 by Schmidt (1976), and 19 from 

 Schmidt were not reported by Tabb 

 and Manning. Schmidt (1976) reports 

 that anchovies ( Anchoa mitchelli and 

 A. hepsetus ) , pinfish, and southern 

 stingray ( Dasyatis americana ) were 

 most abundant in western Florida 

 Bay. Seasonally, 68% more biomass 

 was reported during the wet season 

 than during dry periods. 



8.34 AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES 



In addition to the habitat it 

 offers to nesting wading birds, up- 

 per Florida Bay is also habitat for 

 the endangered American crocodile 

 ( Crocodylus acutus ). This large 

 reptile (up to 4.6 m or 15 ft) 

 ranges throughout the Caribbean, 

 along the southern coasts of Mexico 

 and Central America, and the north- 

 ern tip of South America. Croco- 

 diles in Florida Bay are a disjunct 

 population at the extreme northern 

 edge of the species range. 



171 



