Sinilar habitat use by juvenile £. 

 has been reported in Cuba (Buesa 



the Virgin Islands (01 sen 

 the Lesser Antilles (Peacock 

 Brazil (Costa et al . lf^69). 



et al. 

 1974), 

 Deora- 



of this habitat v/ould certainlv 



1972). 

 argus 



vm, 



1975), 



and in 



da t ion 



threaten lobster productivity (Little 



1977). 



Fish 



In south Florida it appears that con- 

 tinental fish faunas and insular fish 

 faunas mix. Continental species reauire 

 changing environments, seasonally shifting 

 estuarine conditions, high turbidities, 

 and muddy bottoms (Robins" 1971). South- 

 western Florida and northern Florida Bay 

 typify these conditions and their fish 

 assemblages are characterized by many 

 sciaonid species (drums) and the prominent 

 scarid, Lagodon rhomb oides , which is also 

 the most abundant fish in Clearwater sea- 

 grass areas of Biscayne Bay and Card Sound 

 (I. Brook, personal communication). Insu- 

 lar species require clear water, buffered 

 environmental conditions, and bottom sedi- 

 ments composed largely of calcium carbon- 

 ate (Robins 1971). These conditions are 

 found within the grass beds of the Florida 

 Keys and outer margins of Florida Bay. 

 Representative species of families Poma- 

 dasyidae, Lutjanidae, and Scaridae are 

 most numerous in these waters. This pat- 

 tern is most evident among the seasonally 

 resident fishes using soaqrass meadows as 

 nurseries. 



At least eight sciaenid species (see 

 Appendix) have been associated with the 

 seagrass beds in southwestern Florida 

 coastal lagoons and estuaries. Not all of 

 these fishes occur abundantly, and only 

 the spotted seatrout ( Cynoscion nebulo- 

 sus ), the spot ( Leiostomus xanthurus ), and 

 the silver perch ( Bairdiella chrysura ) 

 occur commonly over grass as juveniles. 



The spotted seatrout is one of the 

 few larger carnivorous fishes present in 

 south Florida waters that spawns within 

 the estuary (Tabb 1961, 1966a, 1966b). 

 Eggs sink to the bottom and hatching takes 

 place in bottoi^i vegetation or debris (Tabb 

 1966a, 1966b). The spotted seatrout and 

 another sciaenid, the red drum ( Sciaenops 

 oscellata ), spend the first few weeks of 

 their lives in the grass beds of Florida 



and I'hitewator Bays and then move into the 

 mangrove habitat for the next several 

 years (Heald and Odum 1970). 



The pinfish ( Lagodon rho mboides ) was 

 the most abundant fish collected and was 

 taken throughout the year in the turtle 

 grass beds of Florida Pay (Tabb et al . 

 1962), as is generally true for southwest- 

 ern Florida (Weinstein and Heck 1979; 

 Weinstein et al. 1977; Yokel 1975a, 

 P75b). Yokel (1975a) in Rookery Bay and 

 Yokel (1975h) in Fakahatchee Bay, both of 

 the Ten Thousand Island region of south 

 Florida, noted a strong preference of 

 juvenile pinfish for vegetated areas. The 

 sheepshead ( Arc hos argus proh atocephalus ) , 

 another sparid, initially "recruits into 

 grass beds but quickly moves into mangrove 

 habitats (Heald and Odum 1970) or rocks 

 and pilings (Hildebrand and Cable 193R). 



The snappers, Lutjanus griseu s and j^. 

 synaqris , are common throughout south 

 luvenile gray snapper (L^. gris- 



Florida 

 eus ), are 

 Northern 

 including 

 f'anning 

 side red 



often the most common snapper in 

 Florida and Whitewater Pays, 

 freshwater regions (Tabb and 

 1961). The gray snapper is con- 

 to recruit into grass beds and 

 then after several weeks move into man- 

 grove habitat (Heald and Odum 1970). The 

 lane snapper {\^. synagris), never reaches 

 sufficient size within the bay to enter 

 the fishery significantly. Young lane 

 snappers were abundant in turtle grass 

 habitat when salinities were above 30 ppt 

 (Tabb et al. 1962) in Northern Florida 

 Bay, and wore the most abundant snapper 

 taken commonly within grass habitat of the 

 Ten Thousand Island region of the south- 

 western Florida coast (Weinstein and Heck 

 1979; Weinstein et al . 1977; Yokel 1975a, 

 1975b). In Whitewater Bay, L_. griseus and 

 L. synagris were most abundant when asso- 

 ciated with henthic vegetation (primarily 

 the calcareous green algae Udotea flabel- 

 lum, but also with some shoal grass. ) 

 TTfark 1970). 



On the reefs fringing the Florida 

 Keys alono their oceanic margin, lane and 

 grey snappers are joined by up to 10 

 additional lutjanid species (Starck and 

 Davis 1966; Starck 1968; Longley and 

 Hildebrand 1941; U.S. Pept. of Commerce 

 1980). Of these, the schoolmaster (L. 

 apodus ), the mutton snapper (1^. analisT , 



82 



