Trawl Collections 



Data are only available for September through April, an important period for the spawning of 

 many species, but eliminating the equally important warmer summer months. A typical winter low 

 of trawl-caught individuals was followed by large increases with warming temperatures. 



Twenty-nine species (not counting annelids or insects) were caught by trawling. The number 

 of species in Fearman Lake was 22; Toms Lake, 18; and Bob's Lake, 21 (Table 2). The number 

 of species caught in Toms was significantly less than in Fearman (p = 0.031), but other differences 

 were not statistically significant (p > 0.19). 



Thirteen species were caught in all three sites (Table 2). The number of species caught 

 exclusively in each site were Toms, two; Fearman, four; and Bob's, five. The number of species 

 uniquely absent from each site were Toms, three; Fearman, none; and Bob's, two. As in the gill 

 net samples, this means that species caught in both small lakes were also caught in Fearman Lake. 

 The coefficient of similarity (Southwood 1978) between Toms and Bob's was C $ = 0.67. This was 

 not significantly less (p > 0.19) than the similarity between Fearman and Toms (C s =0.75) or 

 Fearman and Bob's (C g = 0.74). 



Trawl catch abundance was greater in the two smaller lakes than in Fearman Lake (Figure 6), 

 but these differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.95). A comparison of catch rate of 

 19 species in the three areas is seen in Figures 7 and 8 (weight) and Figures 9 and 10 (count). 

 Bob's Lake had the greatest number of species with the highest catch in an area when determined 

 by number (13 species) or by weight (11 species) (Figure 11). There were no statistically significant 

 differences among areas as to the number of species with the highest catch (p > 0.08). 



Observations on individual trawl-captured species (especially with respect to season and area) 

 follow: 



Macoma mitchelli. These clams were only incidentally caught in the trawl, but they appeared 

 nearly equally in all three areas. Juveniles (6-7 mm) appeared in both December through 

 February. 



Rangia cuneata. No rangia were taken in Toms Lake, and only 3 of the 48 taken came from 

 Bob's. Specimens as small as 2 mm were caught in Fearman in January, and by February ranged 

 from 4-11 mm. 



Anchoa mitchilli. Bay anchovies appeared sporadically everywhere with no apparent pattern. 

 Large catches were made in October in Fearman and Bob's, Toms in November, Fearman in 

 February, and again Fearman and Bob's in April. 



Palaemonetes sp. Grass shrimp were clearly most common in Bob's, especially in April when 

 over 2,000 were taken, including many that were ovigerous. They occurred sporadically 

 elsewhere, except for moderate catches in February in Toms. 



Leiostomus xanthurus. Most spot came from Toms in February and April, and most were 

 juveniles ranging from 20 to 40 mm. A few were caught at all three locations; a good catch of 

 53 was taken in one haul from Bob's in April. 



Penaeus setiferus. Although white shrimp are among the most common animals on the refuge 

 (Hebert 1968), our samples were taken mostly when they were least common. Fair numbers 



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