were restricted in spring to collections at higher salinity stations 

 but displayed only moderate to low constancy there, composed 

 assemblages C, D, E, and H (Fig. 2). Species in these groups 

 included fourspot flounder, Ancylopsetta quadroceltata; 

 searobins {Prionotus spp.); black sea bass, Centroprislis 

 striata; lady crabs, Ovalipes ocellatus and O. stephensoni; 

 Atlantic cutlassfish, Trichiurus lepturus; and striped cusk-eel, 

 Ophidion marginatum. Many of the same species composed 

 groups B and C from our cluster analysis of summer data 

 and were restricted but infrequently encountered at collections 

 from stations J003 and J001 (Fig. 2). 



The only species restricted to samples from the lowest salin- 

 ity stations (C001, C002) formed group G in spring (Fig. 2). 

 However, the resident estuarine species, Ictalurus punctatus, 

 I. catus, and Macrobrachium ohione, which composed this 

 group displayed only moderate constancy for collections from 

 these low-salinity stations. 



Ubiquitous species were present during all seasons in the 

 Cooper River-Charleston Harbor estuarine system. These 

 species included the numerically dominant fishes and decapod 

 crustaceans. Although their penetration extended as far up- 

 river as stations C002-C001, species in these assemblages were 

 generally most constant in collections from stations J003, 

 J001, and C004. In the fall, members of groups A and F were 

 encountered at all stations; but only members of group A were 

 consistently collected, as denoted by their very high constancy, 

 at collections from stations J003, J001, C004, and C003 (Fig. 

 2). In our analysis of winter collections, only members of 

 group C were eurytopic in station location. Species in this 

 group were consistently represented in collections at stations 

 J003, J001, and C004, but they were not restricted to these 

 stations (Fig. 2). Members of group A in spring were generally 

 found at all sites but were most consistently encountered at 

 stations J003, J001, and C004 (Fig. 2). Our analysis of summer 

 data showed that euryhaline species of Group A were con- 



sistently present in collections from stations J003, J001, 

 C004, and C003. 



Other assemblages defined by our analysis included species 

 tolerant of a wide salinity range and not restricted to any sta- 

 tion location, but generally of low density. Included in these 

 groups were anadromous species, Alosa aestivalis and A. 

 sapidissima; the American eel, Anguilla rostrata; and the 

 caridean shrimps, Palaemonetes pugio and P. vulgaris. 



Temporal and Spatial Distributions 



Patterns of distribution for the most abundant species of 

 fishes at each station for each month of collection are shown 

 in Figure 3, and fluctuations in their abundance over the 5-yr 

 sampling period are shown in Figure 4. Length-frequency plots 

 which were generated for selected species are not shown but 

 are available from the authors upon request. 



Stellifer lanceolatus, Star drum. — Star drum were most 

 abundant at higher salinity stations C004, J001, and J003, 

 whereas catches were negligible at stations farther upriver 

 (C001, C002) (Fig. 3A). This species displayed seasonality in 

 its abundance, with most individuals collected October 

 through May. Catches of S. lanceolatus also underwent con- 

 siderable annual variation and were greatest during the years 

 1974-76 (Fig. 4A). Length-frequency polygons for star drum 

 over the 5-yr sampling period suggested a consistent influx of 

 small fish (<80 mm TL) into the population during summer 

 with recruitment continuing into fall. Frequencies of these 

 small fish were lower during winter and spring. Our results are 

 consistent with those of Welsh and Breder (1923), Dahlberg 

 and Odum (1970), and Shealy et al. (1974), who also noted 

 that recruitment of young fish first occurred during summer 

 after late-spring and early-summer sDawnine. 



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Figure 3.— Abundance, expressed as the antilog of the transformed [log,) (jt + 1)1 mean number of individuals, of 10 major fish species collected monthly in the channel of the 

 Cooper River — Charleston Harbor estuarine system, 1973-77. Legend indicates four arbitrary levels of abundance, from rare or absent (0-1) to maximum abundance (51-315). 



10 



