Bay anchovy, continued 



that the bay anchovy is attracted to areas of high 

 turbidity (Livingston 1975). 



Substrate : The bay anchovy is known to occur over 

 unvegetated mud substrates (Cornelius 1984), but 

 also occurs in grassy areas (Hildebrand and Cable 

 1930, Reid 1954, Kilby 1955, Hildebrand 1963, 

 Gallaway and Strawn 1 974). It has also been collected 

 over bottoms of clay, hard sand, silty clay, clayey silt, 

 silt and sand, sandy mud, and muddy sand (Reid 1 954, 

 Reid 1955, Miller 1965, Franks 1970, Swingle 1971, 

 Dunham 1 972, Tarver and Savoie 1 976, Dokken et al. 

 1984). 



Physical/Chemical Characteristics : 

 Temperature and salinity: Eggs are commonly found 

 between 8 and 15% with spawning and development 

 having been observed at 30.9 to 37% and from 22° to 

 32°C (Kuntz 1913, Hoese 1965, Detwylerand Houde 

 1 970, Dunham 1 972, Houde 1 974, Tarver and Savoie 

 1976). Preferred temperatures range from 27.2° to 

 27.8°C (Ward and Armstrong 1980). The larvae, 

 juvenile and adult stages are considered both euryha- 

 line and eurythermal. They have been collected from 

 waters ranging from 0.0 to 80%o and from water tem- 

 peratures ranging from 4.5° to 39.8°C (Gunter 1945, 

 Reid 1954, Kilby 1955, Simmons 1957, Renfro 1960, 

 Springer and Woodburn 1960, Miller 1965, Edwards 

 1 967, Franks 1 970, Perret 1 971 , Swingle 1 971 , Wang 

 and Raney 1971, Dunham 1972, Wagner 1973, 

 Gallaway and Strawn 1974, Swingle and Bland 1974, 

 Juneau 1975, Pineda 1975, Tarver and Savoie 1976, 

 Swift et al. 1 977, Barrett et al. 1 978, Chung and Strawn 

 1982, Cornelius 1984). Although they can occur in 

 warmer temperatures, bay anchovies in Galveston 

 Bay are not abundant above 33°C (Gallaway and 

 Strawn 1 974). Larvae are generally collected in great- 

 est abundance between 3 and 7%o (Perry and Boyes 

 1977, Ward and Armstrong 1980). Adults prefer tem- 

 peratures ranging from 8.1 ° to 32.2°C with one Missis- 

 sippi study reporting greatest abundances between 

 20° to 30°C (Perry and Boyes 1977, Ward and 

 Armstrong 1 980). A possible upper lethal limit of 40°C 

 was reported in one temperature study (Chung and 

 Strawn 1982). 



Salinity: Salinity generally appears to have little rela- 

 tionship with juvenile and adult distribution and abun- 

 dance (Hoese 1 965, Christmas and Waller 1 973, Krull 

 1976, Perry and Boyes 1977, Ward and Armstrong 

 1 980, Cornelius 1 984). Reported salinity ranges vary 

 among the different life stages and among different 

 locations. In Texas, larvae have been collected at 0.5 

 to 1% in Matagorda Bay while juveniles and adults 

 have been collected at 1 to 32%o (Ward and Armstrong 

 1 980). The reported salinity range in Alazan Bay is 1 1 

 to 30%o for adults, and 1 1 to 20% o and 31 to 40%o for 



juveniles (Cornelius 1984). Gunter (1945) reports an 

 overall occurrence at <5%o in Copano and Aransas 

 Bays, while Simmons (1 957) reported it to be <50% o in 

 the upper Laguna Madre. In Alabama, it has been 

 reported from 20 to 29.9%o in Mobile and Baldwin 

 counties (Swingle 1971), and 0.0 to 14.9% in Lake 

 Pontchartrain, LA (Tarverand Savoie 1 976). Along the 

 Mississippi coastline, occurrence was reported at 20.0 

 to 25.0%o for larvae, 15 to 20%o for small juveniles, 0- 

 5%o and 25-30%o for larger juveniles (Christmas and 

 Waller 1973, Perry and Boyes 1977). Bay anchovies 

 have been collected in freshwater rivers of Alabama, 

 many miles upstream of Mobile Bay (Mettee et al. 

 1996). 



Turbidity: The bay anchovy may be attracted to areas 

 of high turbidity, and has been collected in water with 

 a turbidities of 0.5 m to 0.7 m secchi depth (Robinette 

 1983). 



Dissolved oxygen (DO): In Louisiana, the bay anchovy 

 was collected in waters with a dissolved oxygen range 

 of 1 .5 to 1 1 .9 ppm (Barrett 1 978). In the Chesapeake 

 Bay, DO concentrations below 3 mg/l probably limit the 

 viability and productivity of this species (Killam et al. 

 1992). 



Movements and Migrations : Migrations are probably 

 limited to seasonal inshore-offshore movements. Bay 

 anchovies move into deeper waters of bays and estu- 

 aries during winter, and back inshore during summer 

 (Hildebrand 1943, Hildebrand 1963, Christmas and 

 Waller 1973, Swingle and Bland 1974, Perry and 

 Boyes 1977, Robinette 1983). Larvae appear to mi- 

 grate into lower salinity nursery areas to mature, and 

 then, as juveniles and adults, move to deeper, more 

 saline areas (Gunter 1945, Hoese 1965, Edwards 

 1967, Swingle and Bland 1974, Killam et al. 1992). 

 Larvae appear on inshore nursery grounds in Missis- 

 sippi waters during April and May (Perry and Boyes 

 1977). Peak larval movement into a Texas tidal pass 

 occurred during June in one study (Allshouse 1983). 

 Immigration into nursery areas continues through Oc- 

 tober and November (Perry and Boyles 1 977). During 

 flood tides, larval bay anchovy may move to the middle 

 of tidal passes to maximize transport into estuarine 

 areas (Raynie and Shaw 1994). 



Reproduction 



Mode : This species has separate male and female 

 sexes (gonochoristic). Milt and roe are broadcast, and 

 fertilization is external. 



Spawning : Spawning occurs in waters less than 20 m 

 deep near barrier islands, in bays and estuaries, tidal 

 passes, harbors, sounds, and in the Gulf of Mexico 

 where it is limited to the shallow inshore areas in bay 



155 



