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 estuarine degradation on offshore 

 populations. 



The presence or absence of members of a set of pre- 

 selected species or species with specific life history 

 strategies can be used to rank the importance of an 

 estuary to these species on a regional basis. For 

 example, if the species group is defined as 

 anadromous fishes that are commercially important 

 offshore, the strength of the off shore-estuarine linkage 

 for each estuary can be established. This can be 

 used to identify estuaries needing special attention 

 or management. Data sets developed in other 

 NOAA programs will enable regional assessments 

 with consistent species information from the head- 

 of-tide in estuaries tothe continental shelf. 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. 



Concluding Comments 



This report is part of an effort to capture the Nation's 

 data on fishes and invertebrates in estuaries (see 

 inside front cover). This research is one step in 

 developing an information base to bridge the gap 

 between site-specific estuarine problems and 

 formulating regional management strategies. Filling 

 this gap is more important than ever, as it becomes 

 clear that cumulative effects of small changes in 

 many estuaries may have a total systemic effect 

 throughout the Nation's estuaries and coastal ocean. 

 Compiling and organizing fragments of estuarine 

 information is a difficult task, but is necessary to 

 effectively manage the nation's estuaries. Although 

 the knowledge available to conserve and protect 

 estuaries continues to be limited, the ELMR data 

 base will allow comparisons among species, groups 

 of species, specific life stages and times of year 

 within an estuary, or by geographic regions. When 

 combined with other data sets, the ELM R data base 

 will enable development and testing of ecological 

 hypotheses and identify gaps in our knowledge of 

 estuarine fishes and invertebrates. 



Acknowledgements 



Wethankthoseindividualsthat 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. 



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