354 
Fishery Bulletin 1 1 1 (4) 
ning multiple years, such as many of the ones listed 
above, potentially blur or miss finer-scale interactions 
that occur over shorter intervals. Therefore, to evalu- 
ate potential interactions between mobile, seasonally 
migratory species, information on spatial distributions 
and food habits is needed at finer spatial and temporal 
scales (Rudershausen et ah, 2010). Although resource 
overlap among Summer Flounder, Weakfish, Bluefish, 
and Striped Bass has been indicated by or inferred in 
prior studies (Garrison and Link, 2000b), often over 
broad areas or time periods, a rigorous evaluation of 
these interactions at a more relevant ecological scale 
is lacking. 
The objectives for this study were to compare habi- 
tat use and food habits of 4 common predators of the 
Middle Atlantic Bight over the course of a 5-month 
period of co-occurrence in nearshore (inner continen- 
tal shelf) waters. The degree of overlap in both habi- 
tat and diet between different size classes of these 4 
predators was quantified to determine resource overlap 
at a fine spatial and temporal scale. 
Materials and methods 
The distribution, abundance, and diet of Summer 
Flounder, Weakfish, Bluefish, and Striped Bass were 
evaluated from 20-min bottom trawls (30-m headrope, 
6-mm codend liner [Byrne, 1994; Wuenschel et ah. 
2012]) conducted in inner continental shelf waters of 
New Jersey in collaboration with the Bureau of Ma- 
rine Fisheries of the New Jersey Department of En- 
vironmental Protection. Through the use of a depth- 
stratified random sampling design, samples were taken 
during daylight hours at depths of 5 to 27 m along 
the New Jersey coast from the entrance of New York 
Harbor to the entrance of Delaware Bay (Fig. 1). The 
survey area was divided into 15 strata (Fig. 1) on the 
basis of latitudinal boundaries and depth contours (9, 
18, and 27 m; Byrne, 1994). In June, August, and Oc- 
tober 2005, all depths and strata were sampled with 
2 tows per strata, plus 1 additional tow in each of the 
9 largest strata (39 tows, Table 1; see Byrne 1994 for 
details). In the intervening months (July and Septem- 
ber), sampling was undertaken with a bottom trawl 
net, bridles, and towing cables that were identical to 
the ones used in June, August, and October and were 
fished from the same vessel (RV Seawolf, SUNY Sto- 
nybrook) used during the other months, but because of 
constraints on vessel time, sampling was limited to 2 
or 3 tows in nearshore and mid-shore depths for all but 
the northernmost and southernmost strata (18 tows, 
July; 12 tows, September; Table 1, Fig. 1). Representa- 
tive subsamples, with a mean of 8.4 (9.6 standard de- 
viation [SD]) per species per tow, of Summer Flounder, 
Weakfish, Bluefish, and Striped Bass were selected to 
cover the range of lengths of fish collected in a given 
tow for analysis of gut contents. Stomachs were re- 
Table 1 
Summary of samples collected in 2005 off the coast of New Jersey for this study of habitat and diet overlap of 4 piscivorous 
fishes. Collection month and sampling effort ( numbers of tows in parentheses), numbers of fish collected, stomachs analyzed 
in the laboratory, and stomachs with prey in the gut for small, medium, and large Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus ), 
PdS, PdM, PdL; small, medium, and large Weakfish ( Cynoscion regalis), CrS, CrM, CrL; small and large Bluefish ( Pomatomus 
saltatrix), PsS, PsL; and Striped Bass ( Morone saxatilis), Ms. 
PdS 
PdM 
PdL 
CrS 
CrM 
CrL 
PsS 
PsL 
Ms 
June (39) 
Fish collected 
85 
170 
80 
1 
774 
1 
9 
4 
7 
Stomachs analyzed 
47 
63 
35 
0 
46 
1 
0 
6 
0 
Stomachs with prey 
30 
42 
26 
0 
42 
1 
0 
4 
0 
July (18) 
Fish collected 
134 
296 
61 
64 
6319 
0 
48 
3 
0 
Stomachs analyzed 
72 
153 
51 
0 
125 
0 
21 
3 
0 
Stomachs with prey 
39 
74 
12 
0 
116 
0 
18 
3 
0 
August (39) 
Fish collected 
302 
950 
148 
2587 
4232 
31 
890 
23 
214 
Stomachs analyzed 
71 
245 
108 
100 
109 
7 
150 
20 
27 
Stomachs with prey 
64 
178 
62 
99 
84 
5 
105 
17 
11 
September (12) 
Fish collected 
29 
783 
116 
17,836 
11,752 
189 
2370 
6 
0 
Stomachs analyzed 
4 
117 
22 
134 
58 
5 
185 
5 
0 
Stomachs with prey 
3 
74 
8 
96 
45 
5 
147 
2 
0 
October (39) 
Fish collected 
12 
192 
31 
9746 
10,275 
1786 
616 
70 
123 
Stomachs analyzed 
6 
134 
26 
172 
93 
86 
156 
67 
89 
Stomachs with prey 
3 
79 
13 
130 
75 
66 
130 
52 
37 
All months ( 147) 
Fish collected 
562 
2391 
436 
30,234 
33,352 
2007 
3927 
112 
344 
Stomachs analyzed 
200 
712 
242 
406 
431 
99 
512 
101 
116 
Stomachs with prey 
139 
447 
121 
325 
362 
77 
400 
78 
48 
