• Florida pompano: Typically found in nearshore surf 

 and inlet waters, but juveniles and adults do enter the 

 bays. Spawning, eggs, and larvae are typically off- 

 shore. 



• Gray snapper: Juveniles are typically associated 

 with vegetation in estuaries, particularly seagrass beds 

 and mangroves. Adults, spawning, eggs, and larvae 

 are usually offshore. 



• Sheepshead: Spawning occurs in nearshore and 

 inlet waters. Larvae are transported towards the estu- 

 aries, but typically enter as juveniles. 



• Pinfish: Juveniles are the predominant life stage 

 within estuaries. Adults, spawning and eggs are typi- 

 cally offshore. Larvae are transported to inlets, but 

 usually attain juvenile size before they enter bays. 

 Subadults and adults may remain in some bays before 

 migrating offshore for spawning. 



• Sciaenids: Most sciaenids move to nearshore or 

 offshore waters for spawning, although some may 

 spawn in passes. Larvae may be transported toward 

 estuaries, but typically attain juvenile size before they 

 enter. Juveniles develop in the nursery habitats of the 

 bays, then migrate out as subadults. Since some of 

 these species have rather long life spans, several 

 years may be spent in the estuaries as juveniles. As 

 temperatures drop in the winter, they move into deeper 

 waters. 



• Striped mullet: Estuarine habitat is primarily used by 

 juveniles and adults. They spawn offshore or near 

 passes, and larvae move inshore and into estuaries. 



• Code goby: This species is usually associated with 

 seagrasses and higher salinities. 



• Spanish mackerel: Juveniles and adults enter estu- 

 aries, but other life stages are pelagic and primarily 

 offshore. 



• Flounders: Spawning, eggs, and larvae are in 

 nearshore waters. Juveniles and larvae migrate into 

 bays for growth and development. Juveniles and 

 adults migrate according to temperature, creating iail 

 runs" to the offshore waters. Gulf flounder (ParaZ/cWrtys 

 albigutta) appear to be more restricted in their ascent 

 into fresher water, typically remaining in salinities greater 

 than 20 ppt, whereas southern flounder (P. lethostigma) 

 often occur in tidal fresh water. Gulf flounder are most 

 common from Mississippi Sound eastward to Florida, 

 whereas southern flounder occur primarily from the 

 Florida panhandle westward to Texas. 



Life history summaries. The life history notes above 

 assist in interpreting the data summary tables. How- 

 ever, because of the complex life histories of estuarine- 

 dependent species, a concise life history summary 

 was written for each species. Each summary provides 

 an overview of how and when a species uses estuaries 

 and what specific habitats it uses. The 44 life history 

 summaries will be published as Volume //of Distribu- 

 tion and Abundance of Fishes and Invertebrates in Gulf 

 of Mexico Estuaries (Pattillo et al., in prep.). They 

 emphasize species-specific life history characteristics 

 that relate directly to estuarine spatial and temporal 

 distribution and abundance. Information for the spe- 

 cies life history summaries was gathered primarily from 

 published and unpublished literature, and individuals 

 with species-specific knowledge were consulted. Ex- 

 amples of draft summaries for three Gulf of Mexico 

 species are included in Monaco et al. (1989). 



Life history tables. While the species life history 

 summaries provide concise accounts of important life 

 history attributes, they do not permit a direct and simple 

 assessment of characteristics that a species shares 

 with others. Furthermore, many life history attributes 

 are categorical and more readily conveyed in a tabular 

 rather than a textual format. Therefore, information 

 from the species life history summaries has been 

 augmented with additional physical and biological pa- 

 rameters and condensed into three life history tables. 

 Major table headings are: Habitat Associations, Bio- 

 logical Attributes, and Reproduction. These tables 

 present life history characteristics for each species 

 along with behavioral traits and prefen-ed habitats. 

 They reflect the most current information about a 

 species as compiled from published and unpublished 

 literature, and can be used to quickly identify species 

 with similar characteristics. The life history tables will 

 be presented along with the summaries in Volume II 

 (Pattillo et al., in prep.). 



Use of ELMR Data 



Classifying and comparing estuaries. Although the 

 qualitative nature of the distribution data precludes 

 statistical comparisons of species abundances among 

 estuaries, comparisons can be made using data on the 

 presence/absence of species in salinity zones. This 

 information, combined with the spatial and temporal 

 distribution data, is the strength of the data base. 

 Estuaries can be loosely categorized by their physical 

 and chemical characteristics and their associated spe- 

 cies assemblages (Monaco et al. 1992). The relative 

 importance of individual estuaries to specific species 

 may also be determined. 



The species found in an estuary are sensitive indica- 

 tors of both the mean and extreme environmental 



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