Most studies of recruitment patterns 

 of subtidal, sessile animals (fouling 

 organisms) have been conducted in North 

 Carolina (McDougall 1943; Maturo 1959; 

 Wells et al . 1964; Sutherland and Karl son 

 1977; Sutherland 1981). The most 



extensive study is that of Sutherland 

 (Sutherland and Karl son 1977, Sutherland 

 1981) who collected data at Beaufort, NC, 

 for 6 1/2 years (Figure 15). Periods of 

 recruitment for 11 common species show 

 considerable seasonality because of the 

 wide annual temperature range at Beaufort. 

 Some species, such as Hal iclona , 

 Hal i chondri a , Tubul ari a , Halocordyl e 

 (= Pennaria ) , and Botryllus , recruited only 

 periodically. Others recruited 



predictably each year (e.g., 



Schi zoporel 1 a . Stye! a , Ascidia , and 

 Crassostrea ) while still others (e.g., 

 Bugula and Balanus spp.) recruited almost 

 continuously (Figure 15). In any given 

 year recruitment could be extremely 

 variable from month to month, resulting in 

 different patterns of community 

 development on newly submerged substrate 

 (Sutherland and Karl son 1977). 



Just south of Cape Canaveral, FL, 

 similar variation in patterns of 

 recruitment has been observed by Mook 

 (1976, 1980, 1983b) even though the annual 

 fluctuation in temperature there is less. 

 Some species recruited only periodically, 

 some predictably each year, and some 

 almost continuously. Organisms that were 

 common throughout the South Atlantic Bight 

 tended to recruit more continuously 

 throughout the year (Mook 1976, 1980). 

 Organisms with more tropical affinities 



recruited primarily during 

 months. 



3.4 FISHES 



the warmer 



Community Composition 



The coastal warm-temperate fishes of 

 the South Atlantic Bight fluctuate 

 seasonally in species composition and 

 abundance (Huntsman and Manooch 1978; 

 Miller and Richards 1979; Lindquist et al . 

 1985; Van Dolah et al . 1986). Most 

 coastal fishes are absent in winter and 

 gradually return to inshore habitats as 

 waters warm in spring. Fishes found on 

 coastal jetties tend to be a subset of 

 those found on inshore oyster reefs and 

 offshore hard bottoms. These fishes can 

 be grouped into five general categories 

 based on their mobility, need for benthic 

 habitat complexity, and seasonality of 

 jetty occupancy. The first group consists 

 of a limited number of small cryptic 

 species, such as those in the blenny 

 (Blenniidae) and goby (Gobiidae) families 

 that generally do not move over large 

 distances and are dependent upon the 

 structural complexity of the jetties. 

 These fishes are often resident year- 

 round. The second group consists of a 

 large number of numerically dominant 

 species such as pinfish, Lagodon 

 rhomboides , spottail pinfish, Diplodus 

 holbrooki , black sea bass, Centropristis 

 stri ata , and pigfish, Orthopri sti s 

 chrvsoptera , that are abundant during 

 warmer months but move offshore in cold 

 winter months. The third group is made up 



Figure 15. Recruitment periodicities for 11 common invertebrate species. Bars indicate when recruitment was 

 observed on artificial plates exposed for 1-4 weeks (Sutherland 1981). 



21 



