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Figure 2 
Release locations and representative spatial distribution patterns for weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) in the Mullica River-Great 
Bay estuary from June through November 2008: distribution of tagged fish that established areas of localized residency (ALR) 
in (A) bay, (B) subtidal creek, and (C) river habitats and (D) distribution of tagged fish that did not establish ALR but still used 
similar portions of the estuary. Circled points in panels A-C are detections that fit the criteria for localized residency (3 or more 
consecutive detections within 500 m of each other). For locations see Figure 1. For details for individual fish, refer to Table 1. 
Deep Point (n- 4; IDs 62, 103, 162, and 204), where diel 
movement patterns were observed, no seasonal ALR 
was established in any estuarine location on the ba- 
sis of the criteria described above. The single fish (ID 
100) that was originally tagged in a different location, 
Big Creek (see Fig. 1) also did not fit the criteria for 
establishment of an ALR at any estuarine location. The 
duration between consecutive detections of a single in- 
dividual was highly variable (12-382 min), because of 
the variable abundance of tagged fish, the different 
amount of time it took for the tracking vessel to return 
to the location of a previous detection, and the ability 
to redetect tagged fish. Redetection was reduced during 
the nighttime period when weakfish moved from their 
ALDR (Table 2). 
The majority of individual weakfish maintained an 
ALDR during the day (n = 8 fish; 119 detections; mean 
distance from ALDR: 0.34 km [SE 0.04]) and moved 
significantly farther from that site during dusk and 
nighttime (n = 7 fish; 36 detections; mean: 1.37 km [SE 
0.17]; Mann-Whitney t/o. 05 ( 2 ), 8, 7=56, P=0.0015), al- 
though distances from ALDR were variable between 
individuals (Table 2; Fig. 5). Variation was driven pri- 
marily by one tagged individual (ID 103) that main- 
tained higher-than-average distances (2.1 and 2.2 km) 
from its ALDR during 2 time periods (0800-1000 and 
1800-2000, respectively). Overall, tagged weakfish 
were never detected within 0.5 km of their ALDR after 
2230 hours. Diel tracking also indicated a level of site 
affinity within a schooling aggregation because most 
fish during this portion of the study were detected 
within the same ALDR. 
