From July 1982 to December 1986, a study of the age and growth of the bonnethead 
shark Sphyrna tiburo was conducted in Tampa and Florida Bays. Tetracycline-injected 
sharks held in captivity and, to a lesser extent, tagged, released and recaptured, were 
utilized for validating the annual nature of the rings (herein defined as the narrow, 
translucent regions) appearing on vertebral centra. The technique was validated for all 
age groups (0 to 6 + yr) included in the study. Marginal increment analysis likewise 
suggested annual ring formation. The rings formed during the winter, when water 
temperatures were lowest. Using the vertebral ring aging-technique, von Bertalanffy 
growth curves for males and females from both Tampa and Florida Bays were 
constructed. Growth of sharks born and held in captivity demonstrated that the male 
and female growth curves diverge after -1 yr and that mean sizes at age are 
statistically distinct after -2 yr. In both populations, females grew to larger sizes than 
males and apparently are longer-lived. Reproductively mature females from Tampa Bay 
were significantly larger than those from Florida Bay. 
1983 0 
Bert, T. M., J. W. Dodrill, G. E. Davis, and J. T. Tilmant (1983) The population dynamics of 
the stone crab (Menippe mercenaria) in Everglades and Biscayne Parks. Fla. Sci. . 46 (Suppl. 
1 ): 2 4 . 
[ABSTRACT ONLY. DATE OF SAMPLING UNKNOWN OR NOT APPLICABLE.] Temporal and 
spatial variations in the distribution, relative abundance, sex ratio, size class 
frequency, and reproductive effort of stone crabs were assessed for one year 
throughout South Florida nearshore national park waters using traps. The data indicate 
that a major nursery area for stone crabs exists offshore from southwest Florida's 
two major terrestrial drainage-systems, the Big Cypress and Everglades estuaries 
Stone crabs apparently disperse from that area southward toward the Florida Keys and 
into Florida Bay. The stone crabs in Biscayne National Park are apparently not locally 
recruited and may be dispersing from farther north along the east coast of Florida. 
1983 0 
Bielsa, L. M., H. Murdich and R. F. Labisky (1983) Species profiles: life histories and 
environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (south Florida) - pink 
shrimp. US Fish Wildlife Service FWS/OBS-82/11.17. US Army Corps of Engineers, TR 
EL-82-4. 21 pp. 
[DATE OF SAMPLING UNKNOWN OR NOT APPLICABLE.] This citation is a species profile 
of the pink shrimp. It covers taxonomy, identification, life history, fisheries, 
ecological role, and environmental requirements. 
1 983 
Harrigan, P., J. C. Zieman, and S. A. Macko (1989) The base of nutritional support for the 
gray snapper: an evaluation based on a combined stomach content and stable isotope 
analysis. Symp. on Florida Bay: A Subtropical Lagoon. Miami, FL. June, 1987. Bull. Mar. 
SfiL, 44(1 ):65-77. 
A combined stomach content and stable isotope analysis was used to determine if 
seagrass provided a base of nutritional support to the gray snapper, Lutjanus griseus. 
The work was done from June to September 1983. The results provided a quantitative 
evaluation of the relative contribution of carbon and nitrogen from various primary 
organic sources to gray snapper taken from a mangrove site (southeast Whitewater 
Bay) and a seagrass dominated location (near Schooner Bank). Stomach content analysis 
revealed that gray snapper from the two areas had similar diets which were primarily 
composed of penaeid shrimp (>60%). Isotopic results provided a distinction between 
food webs on the basis of carbon values. The 5 13 C of components from the seagrass 
location were greater than -17 %o in contrast to values of less than -19 °/ 00 for 
274 
