Park (1976) reported that zooplankton populations in south Texas 

 exhibited a seaward increase which was greatly pronounced during the 

 spring-summer periods of greatest abundance. Zooplankton were most 

 productive in low-salinity, nearshore waters. Copepods were the most 

 abundant zooplankters and were represented by assemblages considered 

 typical for gulf waters. The benthic infauna over much of the brown 

 shrimp grounds was sparse but diverse. Communities were dominated by 

 polychaetes (40?), crustaceans (3W and mollusks (19$), according to 

 Holland et al. (1980). In the same study, benthic infaunal populations 

 in nearshore waters of lower salinity were characterized by higher 

 abundance than populations in high-salinity water offshore. Flint 

 (1979) reported benthic infaunal biomass as about 4 g/nT in the south 

 Texas brown shrimp grounds. 



With the exception of a few forms (e.g. brown shrimp), epifauna of 

 the brown shrimp community is not estuarine-dependent, although the 

 young of many species move shoreward into the white shrimp ground for 

 growth and development. As in the white shrimp grounds, the biomass of 

 the epifauna is dominated by demersal fishes. For every volume of 

 headed shrimp taken in the brown shrimp fishery, an estimated 11 volumes 

 of biomass is discarded with fish biomass closely paralleling total 

 discard biomass. Chittenden and McEachran (1976) found 23 species 

 constituted 93? of the fishes represented in this community, with 

 longspine porgy, Stenotomus caprinus , 39$; Mexican searobin, Prionotus 

 paralatUS , 8%; horned searobin, Bellator militaris , 6%; and dwarf 

 goatfish, Upeneus parvus , 6%, dominating in shrimp trawl catches. The 

 red snapper (Lutianus campechanus) , mostly juvenile although not a 

 dominant, was abundant on the brown shrimp grounds but was not 

 represented in white shrimp grounds studied offshore from Texas. 



Pelagic species of importance in the brown shrimp community include 

 small schooling species such as the scads (e.g. Decaoterus punctatus ) 

 and sardines (e.g. Harengula pensacolae ); and large predators such as 

 the summer abundant king mackerel ( Scomberomous cavalla) , little tuny 

 ( Euthvnnus alletteratus) . and cobia (Rachvcentron canadum) . In the 

 more offshore areas, some tunas are well represented as are several 

 species of billfishes. 



As indicated earlier, pink shrimp communities occur in disjunct 

 areas throughout the brown shrimp grounds where sediments are 

 appropriate. Chittenden and McEachran (1976) have characterized the 

 fishes associated with these communities. Dominant species include the 

 tomtate ( Haepmlon, aurolineatum) , bumper (Chloroscombrus chrysurus) , 

 silver jenny ( Eucinostomus .gulalj. and others. In addition to the 

 characteristic species, the pink shrimp communities usually have a 

 strong admixture of species representative of the brown and/or white 

 shrimp grounds. 



Reef commnrUtie?! The reef communities present at petroleum 

 platforms offshore of Louisiana in the brown shrimp grounds have been 



38 



