Data Sheets. ELMR Program staff conducted exhaus- 

 tive literature reviews to collect existing information on 

 species abundance and distribution. Recent literature 

 best described the present status of species in each 

 estuary, but comparison of new literature with older 

 historical data sets showed longer-term variations. 

 Refereed journal articles, finfish/shellfish surveys, en- 

 vironmental impact statements, and graduate theses 

 constituted most of the material examined. Additional 

 data was often derived from "gray" literature and per- 

 sonal communications. A data sheet was then devel- 

 oped for each of the 61 species in each estuary to 

 enable quick data compilation and presentation. Fig- 

 ure 4 depicts the data sheet for American shad in 

 Delaware Bay. Data compiled for each species/life 

 stage included: 1) the salinity zones it occupies (sea- 

 water, mixing, tidal fresh), 2) the months it is present in 

 those zones, and 3) its relative abundance in each 

 month and each zone. Program staff consulted with 

 local experts to peer review each data sheet. After final 

 edits were made, all ELMR data sheets were entered 

 into a microcomputer data base. 



The following categories were used to describe the 

 relative abundance of each species: 



• Not present: species or life history stage not found, 

 questionable data as to identification of species, recent 

 loss of habitat or environmental degradation suggests 

 absence, or salinity zone not present in estuary. 



• No information available: no existing data available, 

 and after expert review it was determined that not even 

 an educated guess would be appropriate. 



• Rare: species is definitely present but not frequently 

 encountered. 



• Common: species is frequently encountered but not 

 in large numbers; does not imply a uniform distribution 

 over a specific salinity zone. 



• Abundant: species is often encountered in substan- 

 tial numbers relative to other species. 



• Highly abundant: species is numerically dominant 

 relative to other species. 



Figure 4. Example of a species/estuary data sheet: American shad in Delaware Bay. 



Alosa sapidissima 

 American shad 



Delaware Bay 



Delaware / New Jersey / Pennsylvania 



Legend: Relative Abundance: 



= Not Present 



= Rare 



= Common 



= Abundant 



= Highly Abundant 



Data Reliability (R): 



1 = Highly Certain 



2 = Moderately Certain 



3 = Reasonable Inference 



