• Rare — species is definitely present but not frequently 

 encountered. 



• Common — species is frequently encountered but not 

 in large numbers; does not imply a uniform distribution 

 over a specific salinity zone. 



• Abundant — species is often encountered in substan- 

 tial numbers relative to other species with similar life 

 modes. 



• Highly abundant — species is numerically dominant 

 relative to other species with similar life modes. 



Table 2. Classification of ELMR North Atlantic species 

 by guild. 



Sessile Invertebrates Shallow Water Fishes 



Blue mussel 

 Sea scallop 

 American oyster 

 Northern quahog 

 Softshell clam 

 Green sea urchin 



Shrimps 



Daggerblade grass shrimp 

 Northern shrimp 

 Sevenspine bay shrimp 



Large Crustaceans 



American lobster 

 Jonah crab 

 Atlantic rock crab 

 Green crab 



Pelagic Fishes 



Blueback herring 

 Alewife 



American shad 

 Atlantic menhaden 

 Atlantic herring 

 Rainbow smelt 

 Atlantic salmon 

 White perch 

 Striped bass 

 Bluefish 



Atlantic mackerel 

 Butterfish 



Mummichog 

 Silversides 



Fourspine stickleback 

 Threespine stickleback 

 Ninespine stickleback 

 Northern pipefish 

 American sand lance 



Demersal Fishes 



Spiny dogfish 



Skates 



Shortnose sturgeon 



Atlantic sturgeon 



American eel 



Atlantic cod 



Haddock 



Silver hake 



Atlantic tomcod 



Pollock 



Red hake 



White hake 



Northern searobin 



Grubby 



Longhorn sculpin 



Shorthorn sculpin 



Scup 



Tautog 



Cunner 



Ocean pout 



Rock gunnel 



Windowpane flounder 



American plaice 



Winter flounder 



Yellowtail flounder 



Smooth flounder 



The data presented here represent relative abundance 

 levels within a specific estuary; relative abundance 

 levels across all Gulf of Maine estuaries could not be 

 determined in this analysis. Nevertheless, the relative 

 abundance data shown in the data summaries depict 

 the best available information that could be synthe- 

 sized from agency reports, academic studies, and 

 expert reviews (see Data Content and Quality section, 

 below). 



Data verification. For many well-studied species (e.g., 

 winter flounder, American lobster), quantitative data 

 were used to estimate spatial and temporal distribu- 

 tions. For other species, however, reliable quantitative 

 data were limited. Therefore, nearly all data sheets 

 were submitted to panels of local researchers, manag- 

 ers, and technicians for peer review based upon their 

 knowledge of individual species within an estuary. 

 Approximately one and a half years were required to 

 develop the 986 data sheets (Figure 4) and consult with 

 more than 72 scientists and managers at 33 institutions 

 (see Appendix 4 for names and affiliations). As stated 

 previously, this review process complemented the 

 information gathered from the literature and published 

 data sets compiled by NOAA. 



Results 



Presence/absence of ELMR species in North- At- 

 lantic estuaries. Table 3 (p. 8-9) was developed to 

 readily convey the occurrence of each of the 58 ELMR 

 species in each of the 1 7 North Atlantic estuaries. This 

 table depicts the highest relative abundance of the 

 adult or juvenile life stage of each species, in any 

 month, in any salinity zone within each estuary. The 

 spawning, egg, and larval life stage categories are not 

 considered. This table also depicts the zoogeography 

 of species among estuaries. 



Data summaries. The information compiled for each 

 species and estuary (986 data sheets) was organized 

 in three data summaries that begin on p. 17. Table 4 

 (pp. 19-49) summarizes the distribution and relative 

 abundance (the highest level of abundance during the 

 year in each estuary is depicted) for each species by 

 life stage, in each estuary by salinity zone. Table 5 (pp. 

 51-111) summarizes the temporal distribution and 

 relative abundance of each species by month and life 

 stage for each estuary. This table combines data over 

 the three salinity zones, showing the highest level of 

 abundance for a particular life stage by month. The 

 information shown represents the expected spatial 

 and temporal distribution of a species in a particular 

 estuary based upon available data. 



