We believe that the Children's Bay Cay site is important to 

 the recruitment of conch into the southern Exuma Cays. Our 

 observations indicated that the numbers of 1-year-old juvenile S. 

 gigas remain relatively stable suggesting that new conch recruit 

 into the area each year. The conditions that allow conch to 

 thrive here are not understood. Obviously, food availability, 

 good water quality, bottom sediment suitable to allow the 

 youngest conch to bury and avoid predation, and currents that 

 carry the pelagic veligers to nursery areas are all important to 

 the success and survival of the juveniles. The Children's Bay 

 Cay site offers rich Thalassia grassbeds that provide food for 

 the conch and strong tidal currents that move water in and out of 

 Exuma Sound. 



Leaf Cay 



A small population of juvenile S^ gigas was found adjacent 

 to Leaf Cay just north of Lee Stocking Island. This group was 

 fairly isolated and warrants only a brief mention here. 

 Measurements made from July 1985 to January 1986 showed a size 

 distribution ranging from 8.0-13.5 cm, similar to that of the 

 Children's Bay Cay population. Modes of the length-frequency 

 curves ranged from 10.0 cm in July 1985 to 11.5 cm in January 

 1986. 



On June 4 and 10, 1985, 97 juvenile S_^ gigas were tagged at 

 the Leaf Cay site. Fifty-nine were recaptured in the same area, 

 including 14 captured twice. Mean growth rates calculated from 

 tagging data were 0.14 mm/day and 0.41 cm/month. Tagging returns 

 and growths from Leaf Cay are summarized in Table 3. 



Tugboat Cay 



One of the largest juvenile conch populations in the 

 vicinity of Lee stocking Island was found west of Tugboat Cay. 

 Although we do not have density figures for this area, it was 

 generally observed that densities were not as high as in the 

 Children's Bay Cay population, the Tugboat Cay nursery area 

 being larger and the range of sizes and ages much wider. In 

 August 1985 sizes at Tugboat Cay (N=78) ranged from 8.4-14.7 cm 

 (Fig. 5). During the same month, sizes at Children's Bay Cay 

 (N=100) ranged from 8.0-12.5 cm (Fig. 4). A bimodal size 

 distribution curve of juvenile S_^ gigas was evident at various 

 times from July 1985- January 1986 (Fig. 5) due to occasional 

 sampling of a population of smaller conch toward the eastern end 

 of the Tugboat area. At the Tugboat Cay site conch ranged from 1 

 year to adult, the dominant ages being 1- and 2-year olds with 

 significant numbers of 3+ also found. Nowhere else in the area 

 between Leaf Cay and south of Children's Bay Cay have we found 

 significant numbers of 2- to 3-year-old conch as were found at 

 Tugboat Cay. Considering its close proximity, the Children's Bay 

 Cay 1- to 2-year-old conch could migrate to the Tugboat Cay site. 



357 



