NOAA's Estuarine Living Marine Resources Program 



In June 1 985, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began a program to develop a com- 

 prehensive information base on the life history, relative abundance and distribution of fishes and invertebrates in 

 estuaries throughout the Nation (Monaco 1986). The Estuarine Living Marine Resources (ELMR) program is 

 conducted jointly by the Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) Division of the Office of Ocean Resources 

 Conservation and Assessment (ORCA) and laboratories of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 

 Currently, the R. Adams (Hammond), OR; Galveston, TX; Beaufort, NC; and Oxford, MD laboratories are 

 compiling information forthe contiguous West Coast, Gulf of Mexico, Southeast, and Northeast regions. Additional 

 data for the Northeast are being compiled by the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences. To date, the program has 

 compiled data for 1 1 5 species found in 83 estuaries. Seven reports are available free upon request (see below). 



Three salinity zones as defined in Volume 1 of NOAA's National Estuarine Inventory Data Atlas (NOAA 1985) 

 provided the spatial framewori< for organizing information on species distribution and abundance within each 

 estuary. These salinity zones are tidal fresh (0.0 to 0.5 ppt), mixing (0.5 to 25 ppt), and seawater (>25 ppt). The 

 primary data developed for each species include spatial distribution by salinity zone, temporal distribution by 

 month, and relative abundance by life stage, e.g., adult, spawning, juvenile, larva, and egg. In addition, a detailed 

 estuarine life history summary is written for each species. 



Additional information on this or other programs of NOAA's Strategic Environmental Assessments Division is 

 available from: 



Strategic Environmental Assessments Division 



Office of Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment 



National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 



6001 Executive Blvd., Rm. 220 



Rockville, Maryland 20852 



FTS/Comm. (301) 443-0453/8921 



Reports available from NOAA's Estuarine Living Marine Resources program include: 



Monaco, M. E., et al. 1 989. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in Texas estuaries. ELMR Rpt. No. 3. 

 Strategic Assessment Branch, NOS/NOAA. Rockville, MD. 107 p. 



Monaco, M. E., et al. 1990. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in west coast estuaries. Volume I: Data 

 Summaries. ELMR Rpt. No. 4. Strategic Assessment Branch, NOS/NOAA. Rockville, MD. 240 p. 



Bulger,A.J.,etal. 1990. A proposed estuarine classification: analysis of species salinity ranges. ELMR Rpt. No. 5. Strategic 

 Assessment Branch, NOS/NOAA. Rockville, MD. 28 p. 



Williams, C. D. , et al. 1 990. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in eastern Gulf of Mexico estuaries. ELMR 

 Rpt. No. 6. Strategic Assessment Branch, NOS/NOAA. Rockville, MD. 105 p. 



Czapla, T. C, et al. 1 991 . Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in central Gulf of Mexico estuaries. ELMR 

 Rept. No. 7. NOAA/NOS Strategic Environmental Assessments Division, Rockville, MD. 82 p. 



Emmett, R. L., et al. In preparation. Fishes and invertebrates in west coast estuaries. Vol II: life history summaries. ELMR 

 Rept. No. 8. NOAA/NOS Strategic Environmental Assessments Division, Rockville, MD. 



Nelson, D. M., et al. In preparation. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in southeast estuaries. ELMR 

 Rept. No. 9. NOAA/NOS Strategic Environmental Assessments Division, Rockville, MD. 



