11-20 



water. Wells, Steele and Tyler (1973) and Kennedy and Steele (1971) 

 observed that this species utilized shoal and intertidal areas for 

 feeding and spawning, retreating to deeper waters as temperatures 

 increased in midsummer. In the Weweantic River estuary in Marion, 

 Massachusetts, Frame (1974) found that winter flounder fed in the estu- 

 ary proper during the spring and near the mouth of the estuary during 

 summer and fall. Migration is not typical of this species (Bigelow and 

 Schroeder, 1953) , although there is a general tendency for the fish to 

 move offshore as they grow older (Perlmutter, 1947; Kennedy and Steele, 

 1971) . Lobell (1939; cited by McCracken, 1963) described the movement 

 of winter flounder in Long Island Sound as diffusion, in which the older 

 individuals would travel further than the juveniles. Pierce and Howe 

 (1977) found similarities between individual winter flounder from groups 

 of adjacent estuarine nursery areas, but did not consider this evidence 

 of genetic units separated by spawning behavior. 



The winter flounder is omnivorous (Kennedy and Steele, 1971; 

 Richards, 1963). Richards (1963) found more different prey species in 

 adult P. americanus stomachs than in any other species in her study of 

 the demersal fishes of Long Island Sound. Winter flounder larvae feed 

 on copepod nauplii, copepodites, and adults; they select larger par- 

 ticles as they themselves grow larger. Laurence (1975) observed larval 

 feeding and attendant growth at temperatures as low as 5°C; while adults 

 were observed by 011a, Wicklund and Wilk (1969) to feed at temperatures 

 between 17.2°C and 22.2°C, the full range during their observations. The 

 winter flounder feeds only during the day, remaining quiescent on the 

 bottom at night (011a et al., 1969). Adult winter flounder typically 

 feed most heavily on polychaetes (Richards, 1963; Haedrich and Haedrich, 

 1974; Frame, 1974; Kennedy and Steele, 1971), amphipods (Levings, 1974; 

 Frame, 1974); bivalves (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1953; Kennedy and Steele, 

 1971) or fish eggs and larvae, including those of winter flounder 

 (Kennedy and Steele, 1971). Wells, Steele and Tyler (1973) and Kennedy 

 and Steele (1971) found that plant material occasionally makes up a 

 significant portion of the diet. Kennedy and Steele (1971) found that 

 winter flounder in Newfoundland cease feeding during December and Jan- 

 uary but resume feeding during the spawning period. 



