and 4) species that enter estuaries during certain times 

 of the year to feed on abundant prey. The biological 

 importance of an estuary can be assessed by the 

 intensity with which species use estuarine habitats. 

 Importance can be estimated both by the number of 

 species present as well as the density of specific life 

 stages in estuaries relative to offshore habitats. These 

 data may assist in identifying adverse effects of estua- 

 rine degradation on offshore populations. 



East Coast of North America Strategic Assess- 

 ment Project. Development of a diagnostic capability 

 to link estuaries to marine ecosystems is a component 

 of the Division's East Coast of North America Strategic 

 Assessment Project (ECNASAP) (NOAA 1 991 ). The 

 ECNASAP is currently under development through two 

 joint pilot projects between NOAA and Canada 

 (ACZISCC 1 993). The ECNASAP is defining the major 

 biological, physical, chemical, and economic charac- 

 teristics of the east coast of North America to address 

 multiple resource use conflicts. The data compiled for 

 the ELMR southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and North Atlantic 

 regions will be integrated into the ECNASAP which 

 includes electronic mapping of the distribution and 

 relative abundance of living marine resources. The 

 study area begins at the head-of-tide in estuaries and 

 encompasses the continental shelf as defined by the 

 200-m isobath and epipelagic waters. The ELMR 

 distribution and abundance data are the primary source 

 of fish and invertebrate information for USA east coast 

 estuaries. The data will be integrated with the coastal 

 and offshore living resource information to develop a 

 consistent data base on species from the head-of-tide 

 to past the continental shelf. This will enable the 

 development of a capability to define the coupling of 

 estuarine and marine ecosystems based on species' 

 distributions, life history strategies, and physical and 

 hydrological habitat requirements (Monacoand Lowery 

 1993) 



The ECNASAP complements other Federal marine 

 environmental programs, e.g.. National Status and 

 Trends (O'Connor 1990), and will support regional 

 environmental assessments of anthropogenic effects 

 on living marine resources. Integration of biological 

 and physical data will significantly improve our ability to 

 identify and define the biological linkages and physical 

 interchanges between estuarine and shelf habitats. As 

 it becomes apparent that the cumulative effects of 

 small alterations in estuaries have a systemic impact 

 on coastal ocean resources, it is more important than 

 ever to compile consistent information on the Nation's 

 estuarinefishes and invertebrates. Although the knowl- 

 edge available to effectively conserve and manage 

 living resources is limited, the ELMR program provides 

 an important tool for assessing the status of estuarine 

 fauna and examining their relationships with other 



species and their environment. The ELMR data base 

 provides baseline information on the zoogeography 

 and ecology of estuarine fishes and invertebrates, and 

 identifies gaps in our knowledge of these resources. 



Acknowledgments 



We thank those individuals that provided information 

 and reviewed the data in this report. Without their 

 efforts a study of this magnitude and complexity would 

 not be possible. In addition, we thank the many other 

 scientists and managers who provided contacts and 

 references. Special thanks are due to Anne M. Lange 

 and Maurice P. Lynch for their comments on this 

 manuscript. The illustrations of weakfish, silversides, 

 and striped bass on the front cover are from Goode 

 (1884). 



Literature Cited 



ACZISCC (Atlantic Coastal Zone Information Steering 

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Anderson, G. 1985. Species profiles: life histories and 

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Darnell, R.M.,R.E.Defenbaugh, and D.Moore. 1983. 

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Fahay, M.P. 1978. Biological and fisheries data on 

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Goode, G.B. 1884. The Fisheries and Fishing Industry 

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