Spot, continued 



1984, Hales and Van Den Avyle 1989, Mercer 1989, 

 Killam et al. 1992). Wading birds such as the clapper 

 rail also utilize this species as food (Heard 1982). 



Factors Influencing Populations : Results in a study 

 from the Mississippi Sound area suggest that inshore 

 shrimping activities have a pronounced effect on the 

 abundance of this and other species of groundfish 

 (Warren 1981). The principal causes of mortality in 

 juvenile spot include predation and low winter tem- 

 peratures during early recruitment events (Killam et al. 

 1 992). Predation in higher salinity waters may also be 

 a limiting factor in juvenile spot production (Currin et al. 

 1 984). Although spot may be able to survive in waters 

 of low DO, many of the prey items are not able to 

 tolerate such conditons (Killam et al. 1992). Low DO 

 may therefore indirectly influence the distribution pat- 

 terns of spot, that will move to areas with abundant food 

 resources. Spot and Atlantic croaker may compete for 

 the same food resources, but it is not known to what 

 extent this competition affects their abundance and 

 distribution. 



Personal communications 



Van Hoose, Mark S. Alabama Division of Marine 

 Resources, Dauphin Island, AL. 



References 



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