Blue Tilapia in Georgia 33 



tions; however, initial attempts to remove the parent population have 

 been unsuccessful. Unfortunately, runoff from recent storms (including 

 Hurricane Hugo) may have already dispersed individuals to other parts 

 of the Skidaway River estuary. Because of the mouth-brooding habits 

 of this species, a single female, which can carry as many as 1,600 young 

 (Payne and Collinson 1983), could disperse a considerable number of 

 individuals to other parts of the river. 



In summary, collections to date suggest that a substantial number 

 of blue tilapia have escaped into a tidal creek of the Skidaway River. 

 Whether or not the species is established in the Skidaway River estuary 

 remains to be seen, but establishment appears both likely and un- 

 fortunate. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.— I thank D. Jennings, B. Wilson, and an 

 anonymous reviewer for their critiques of the manuscript, and A. 

 Boyette for preparing Fig. 1. Financial support for this research was 

 provided by NOAA, Office of Sea Grant, Department of Commerce, 

 Georgia Sea Grant College Program Grant #NA84AA-D-00072 to G. 

 S. Helfman and the author. The United States government is authorized 

 to produce and distribute reprints for governmental purposes notwith- 

 standing any copyright notation that appears hereon. This study is 

 Contribution #3 of the Sciaenid Project on the River (SPOTR). 



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