west coast and Florida Bay, respectively. Red drum moved less than 8 km. The fish that 
moved the greatest distances were the larger fish (over 750 mm). Red drum return 
rates were 9.4% for the west coast and 2% for Florida Bay. Gray snapper returns 
indicated movement to the southwest as the individuals grew. The mean distance 
traveled by these fish was 18.3 km. Black drum returns illustrated general northwest 
movement out of the park from January to April and substantiated the schooling 
behavior of the species. Sheepshead tag returns indicated that they remained near 
shore during the fall and early winter and were absent from these waters during the 
late winter. Maximum traveled distance was 10 m prior to spawning season. 
1984 - 1985 
Chester, A. J., and G. W. Thayer (1990) Distribution of spotted seatrout ( Cynoscion 
nebulosus) and gray snapper ( Lutjanus griseus) juveniles in seagrass habitats of western 
Florida Bay. Bull. Mar. Sci., 46(2): 345-57. 
The distribution, abundance, and biomass of juvenile spotted seatrout (Cynoscion 
nebulosus) and gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) were evaluated along with information 
on seagrasses, sediments, water temperature, and salinity in basin and channel 
habitats of western and central Florida Bay during 1984 - 1985. Spotted seatrout 
juveniles were most prevalent in basin habitats in the western portion of the Bay, near 
the Gulf of Mexico, and were collected during every month sampled except May 
(1984); smallest individuals were collected during May (1985), June (1984, 1985), 
and July (1984). The habitats in which spotted seatrout occurred had deeper more 
organic sediments with greater density and biomass of the seagrass, Syringodium 
filiforme, than did non-seatrout areas (ANOVA, P < 0.05). Gray snapper juveniles were 
most prominent in channels of the southeastern part of the Bay but also occurred in 
basins located to the northwest. The presence or absence of gray snapper was related 
to the distribution of seagrass biomass, particularly that of Thalassia testudinum in the 
basins and Syringodium in the channels. These data suggested that seagrass meadows 
are critical habitats for spotted seatrout and gray snapper in the Bay. 
1984 - 1985 
Cooper, D. J. (1986) Variability in biogenic hydrogen sulfide emissions from selected 
Florida ecosystems. M. S. Thesis, University of Miami., Coral Gables, FL. 164 pp. 
Hydrogen sulfide emission fluxes were measured from several different habitats in 
Florida, characterizing a freshwater swamp, mangrove fringes, various tidal marshes 
and natural water surfaces. Variability in emission rates from different ecosystems is 
explained in terms of the availability of oxygen, sulfate and organic matter, whilst 
variability at the individual sampling locations is explained in terms of diel or tidal 
effects. Diel effects were found at all sites except where tidal inundation of reducing 
sediments was occurring. Soil surfaces exhibited an afternoon peak in emission rates 
with a broad night time minimum, while emissions from water surfaces peaked before 
dawn and had a broad minimum during the day. The lowest emitting soil surface in 
sawgrass (C. jamaicense) swamp had a range of 1.6 - 41 mg S (H 2 S) nrr 2 yr* 1 and the 
highest emitting soil surface in a spike grass ( D. spicata) tidal marsh had a range of 73 
- 1336 mg S m^yr* 1 . The lowest emitting water surface was a highly organic coastal 
water with a range of 0.6 - 19.6 mg S m' 2 yr' 1 and the highest emitting water surface 
was in the D. Spicata marsh with a range of 6.2 - 13100 mg S m^yr' 1 . Tidal effects 
were more dramatic, and occurred for brief periods as water inundated the sampling 
site. Individual flux measurements from bare sand in a S. alterniflora marsh ranged 
from 10.7 - 130400 mg S m' 2 yr' 1 from a mudflat in a mangrove fringe. Using 
different averaging techniques to account for the factors controlling emission rates in 
the various ecosystems, an annual flux of 1.8 x 10 9 S (H 2 S) yr' 1 can be calculated for 
the entire state of Florida. This is insignificant compared to the anthropogenic S0 2 flux 
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