Distribution and Abundance ofFisties and Invertebrates in Gulf of Mexico Estuaries 



Volume I: Data Summaries 



Introduction 



This report presents information on the spatial and 

 temporal distribution, and relative abundance of 44 fish 

 and invertebrate species in 31 estuaries along the Gulf 

 of (Mexico coast of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Loui- 

 siana, and Texas. Its purpose is to disseminate data 

 developed in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration's (NOAA) Estuarine Living Marine Re- 

 sources (ELMR) program (see inside front cover). The 

 ELMR program is conducted through a series of joint 

 regional studies by the National Ocean Service (NOS) 

 and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The 

 presence, distribution, and relative abundance of each 

 species and the time period it utilizes each estuary are 

 the primary data compiled. The data and framewor1< 

 presented are illustrative of the nationwide ELMR 

 program. 



This report, Volume /, combines information presented 

 in earlier reports for nine estuaries in Texas (Monaco et 

 al. 1989), 13 estuaries in Florida and Alabama (Wil- 

 liams et al. 1990), and nine estuaries in Louisiana and 

 Mississippi (Czapla et al. 1991). However, several 

 species have been added, and the graphic depiction of 

 relative abundance has been improved. Volume II 

 (Pattillo et al., in prep.), to be published in 1993, will 

 present life history summaries for 44 fish and inverte- 

 brate species, and focus on how these individual 

 species utilize Gulf of Mexico estuaries. 



The objective of the ELMR program is to develop a 

 consistent data base on the distribution, abundance, 

 and life history characteristics of important fishes and 

 invertebrates in the Nation's estuaries. The Nation- 

 wide data base is divided into four study regions 

 (Figure 1). The data base contains the relative abun- 

 dance and monthly occurrence of each species' life 

 stage by estuary for three salinity zones (seawater, 

 mixing, and tidal fresh) identified in NOAA's National 

 Estuarine Inventory (NEI) Data Atlas-Volume I (NOAA 

 1985). When completed, the entire data base will 

 contain information for 135 fish and invertebrate spe- 

 cies found in 118 U.S. estuaries. 



Rationale 



Estuaries are among the most productive natural sys- 

 tems and are important nursery areas that provide 

 food, refuge from predation, and valuable habitat for 

 many species (Gunter 1967, Joseph 1973, Weinstein 

 1979, Mann 1982). Estuarine organisms that support 

 important commercial and recreational fisheries in- 

 clude shrimp, crabs, and sciaenids. In spite of the well- 

 documented importance of estuaries to fishes and 

 invertebrates, few consistent and comprehensive data 

 bases exist which allow examinations of the relation- 

 ships between estuarine species found in or among 

 groups of estuaries. Furthermore, much of the distribu- 

 tion and abundance information for estuarine-depen- 

 dent species (i.e., species that require estuaries during 



NMFS, 

 Hammond, O 



West Coast 



32 estuaries, 

 47 species 



Northeast 



35 estuaries, 

 62 species 



Univ. of Mass. 

 NMFS, Annapolis, MD 

 < / Va. Inst. Marine Sci. 



<7^ NMFS, Beaufort, NO 



Southeast 



20 estuaries, 

 40 species 



Gulf of Mexico 



31 estuaries. 

 44 species 



Figure 1. ELMR study regions and regional research laboratories. 



