NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS CCMA 144 National Overview and Evolution of NOAA's Estuarine Living Marine Resources (ELMR) Program r Silver Spring, Maiy November 2000 US Department of Commerce V NpAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -. CVI inte^i for Coastal Mortforing and Assessment BOi Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science National Ocean Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce N/SCI1,SSMC4 1305 East-West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910 ^^^S ~T==- ' ' Ul ^^^^M ^^== ^=E^ tr ~"~~ ru LT) WHOI mi IT □ ■ m o ^^^^^ | o I CD Notice This report has been reviewed by the National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and approved for publication. Such approval does not signify that the contents of this report necessarily represent the official position of NOAA or of the Government of the United States, nor does mention of trade names or commerical products constitute endorsement or recommendation for their use. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS CCMA 144 National Overview and Evolution of NOAAs Estuarine Living Marine Resources (ELMR) Program David M. Nelson and Mark E. Monaco Biogeography Program* Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science National Ocean Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Silver Spring, MD 20910 Silver Spring, Maryland November 2000 United States Department of Commerce Norman Y. Mineta Secretary National Oceanic and National Ocean Service Atmospheric Administration D. James Baker Margaret A. Davidson Under Secretary Assistant Administrator (Acting) *Formerly a program of the NOS Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) Division This report should be cited as: Nelson, D.M., and M.E. Monaco. 2000. National Overview and Evolution of NOAA's Estuarine Living Marine Resources (ELMR) Program. NOAA Tech. Memo. NOS NCCOS CCMA 144. Silver Spring, MD: NOAA, NOS, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment. 60 p. Contents Preface iv Introduction 1 Rationale 2 Base ELMR Data Collection 2 Selection of estuaries 3 Selection of species 3 Data sheet development 5 Life History Summaries and Tables 11 Life History Summaries 1 1 Life History Tables 11 Regional Results 15 Data summaries 15 Regional presence/absence of ELMR species 15 North Atlantic Region 15 Mid- Atlantic Region 21 Southeast Region 27 Gulf of Mexico Region 33 West Coast Region 40 Data Content and Quality 46 Data reliability 46 Variability in space and time 46 Base ELMR Strengths and Weaknesses 46 Revising and Updating the ELMR Data Base 47 Data preparation 47 Data transformation 48 Gulf of Mexico: Texas case example 48 Update of Massachusetts ELMR data 51 ELMR Applications 53 The Future 55 Acknowledgments 56 Literature Cited 57 List of Figures Figure 1 . ELMR study regions. Figure 2. Major steps to complete the National ELMR study, 1985-1994. Figure 3. Example of a species/estuary data sheet: weakfish in Delaware Bay. Figure 4. Evolution of the ELMR program, 1985-1994. Figure 5. Life history table headers: Habitat Associations, Biological Attributes, and Reproduction.. Figure 6. Location of 17 North Atlantic ELMR estuaries and associated salinity zones. Figure 7. Mean number of ELMR species in North Atlantic estuaries, by salinity zone, month, and life stage. Figure 8. Location of 22 Mid-Atlantic ELMR estuaries and associated salinity zones. Figure 9. Mean number of ELMR species in Mid- Atlantic estuaries, by salinity zone, month, and life stage. Figure 10. Location of 20 Southeast ELMR estuaries and associated salinity zones. Figure 11. Mean number of ELMR species in North Carolina estuaries, by salinity zone, month, and life stage. Figure 12. Mean annual maximum number of ELMR species in North Carolina estuaries. Figure 13. Location of 31 Gulf of Mexico ELMR estuaries and associated salinity zones. Figure 14. Mean number of ELMR species in Gulf of Mexico estuaries, by salinity zone, month, and life stage. Figure 15. Mean annual maximum number of ELMR species in Gulf of Mexico estuaries. Figure 16. Location of 32 West Coast ELMR estuaries and associated salinity zones. Figure 17. Mean number of ELMR species in West Coast estuaries, by salinity zone, month, and life stage. Figure 18. Schematic methodology for revising and updating ELMR database. Figure 19. Seasonal estuarine salinity zones derived for Galveston Bay, Texas. Figure 20. Relative abundance of several species in Galveston Bay, Texas, by seasonal salinity zone. Figure 21. ELMR relative abundance and MDMF trawl survey data for winter flounder in Massachusetts. List of Tables Table 1. ELMR regional data bases and reports, completion dates, revisions /updates, and applications. Table 2. ELMR estuaries (n=122), by region. Table 3. ELMR species (n=153), by region. Table 4. ELMR species guilds, by region. Table 5. Format of species life history summaries. Table 6. Example of a species/lifestage occurrence table: dungeness crab in 32 West Coast estuaries. Table 7. Example of a species/lifestage occurrence table: spotted seatrout in 31 Gulf of Mexico estuaries. Table 8. ELMR North Atlantic species (n=58). Table 9. Occurrence of 58 ELMR species in 17 North Atlantic estuaries. Table 10. ELMR -Mid-Atlantic species (n=61). Table 11. Occurrence of 61 ELMR species in 22 Mid-Atlantic estuaries. Table 12. ELMR Southeast species (n=40). Table 13. Occurrence of 40 ELMR species in 20 Southeast estuaries. Table 14. ELMR Gulf of Mexico species (n=44). Table 15. Occurrence of 44 ELMR species in 31 Gulf of Mexico estuaries. Table 16. ELMR West Coast species (n=47). Table 17. Occurrence of 47 ELMR species in 32 West Coast estuaries. in Preface NOAA's Estuarine Living Marine Program We take great pride in providing you this comprehensive report: National Overview and Evolution of NOAA's Estuarine Living Marine Resources (ELMR) Program. This document complements many of our ELMR program technical reports and peer reviewed literature that has been published over the last 15 years. The impetus behind the development of this document was to provide our user community with a unified document that summarizes the fundamental information contained in the ELMR regional databases and to provide documen- tation of how the program and its associated methodologies have evolved. Although the ELMR program is housed within NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), the implementation and success of the nationwide program is due to the efforts of hundreds of scientists and managers who have assisted us in compiling the species distribution, relative abundance, and life history information. Their willingness to work with us by providing resources, compiling and providing data, and reviewing the digital data base and associated GIS map products have made the ELMR program a success. We owe a special thanks to our colleagues in the National Marine Fisheries Service, who, over the years, provided many of the principal investigators who aided NOS ELMR scientists in developing the nationwide data- base. Our ELMR activities will continue to evolve within NOS's Biogeography Program, and we encourage you to follow the evolution of ELMR and its associated synthesis and research activities on the Web: http://biogeo.nos.noaa.gov. Sincerely, Mark E. Monaco, Ph.D. Manager, NOS Biogeography Program National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment Silver Spring, MD April 2000 IV Introduction In 1985, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- ministration (NOAA) began a program to develop a consistent data base on the presence, distribution, relative abundance, and life history characteristics of ecologically and economically important fishes and invertebrates in the nation's estuaries. The Estuarine Living Marine Resources (ELMR) program was founded by the Biogeography Program* of the of the former Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) Division of the National Ocean Service (NOS). Through the years, it has been conducted jointly by NOS, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and other agencies and institutions. The nationwide "Base ELMR" data base was completed in 1994, and includes data for 153 species found in 122 estuaries and coastal embayments in five regions. Regional revisions were completed for the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast in 1998, and plans are under way to update the Mid-Atlantic and North Atlantic regions in 2000- 2001 . This report provides a national overview of the evolution, accomplishments, and regional results of the ELMR program to date. The data base is divided into five study regions (Fig- ure 1) and contains the monthly relative abundance of each species' life stage by estuary for three salinity zones (seawater, mixing, and tidal fresh), as identified in NOAA's National Estuarine Inventory (NED Data Atlas-Volume I and supplement (NOAA 1985a). Re- gional data summary reports have been published for the North Atlantic (Jury et al. 1994), Mid-Atlantic (Stone et al. 1994), Southeast (Nelson et al. 1991), Gulf of Mexico (Nelson et al. 1992), and West Coast (Mo- naco et al. 1990). Regional life history summary reports have been published for the West Coast (Emmett et al. 1991) and Gulf of Mexico (Pattillo et al. 1997). Life history tables and summaries for the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and North Atlantic regions are being developed. Since completion of the national ELMR data base in 1994, it has been updated, revised, improved, and applied to specific problems in natural resource man- agement (Table 1). To further refine the spatial reso- lution of the ELMR framework, a multivariate meth- odology (Bulger et al. 1993) was applied to derive five bio-salinity zones in four "salinity seasons" for Gulf of Mexico and Southeast estuaries (Christensen et al. 1997). In addition, ELMR data for the adult and juvenile life stages of species have been revised based on recent resource surveys using trawl and other gear. The revised ELMR data were then linked with the seasonal estuarine bio-salinity zones for the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast regions, and incorporated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) to enable spatial organization of the data. The improved ELMR data base has been used for a variety of applications, including Habitat Suitability Modeling (HSM), Envi- ronmental Sentitivity Index (ESI) mapping (RPI 1996, 1997), HazMat response (oil spill) planning, and the identification of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) (NOAA / GMFMC 1998). •Now the Biogeography Program of the NOS Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment West Coast 32 estuaries, 47 species North Atlantic 1 7 estuaries, 58 species Mid-Atlantic 22 estuaries, 61 species Southeast 20 estuaries, 40 species Figure 1. ELMR study regions. Gulf of Mexico 31 estuaries, 44 species Rationale Estuaries are among the most productive natural sys- tems and have been shown to be important nursery areas that provide food, refuge from predation, and valuable habitat for many species (Tyler 1971, MacDonald et al. 1984, Langton et al. 1989, Day et al. 1989, Ayvazian et al. 1992). Estuarine organisms that support important commercial and recreational fish- eries include bivalves, decapods, and a variety of finfish. In spite of the well documented importance of estuaries to fishes and invertebrates, few consistent and comprehensive data bases exist that allow exami- nations of the relationships between estuarine species found in or among groups of estuaries. Furthermore, much of the distribution and abundance information for estuarine-dependent species (i.e., species that re- quire estuaries during their life cycle) is for offshore life stages and does not adequately describe estuarine distributions (NOAA 1990a, Darnell et al. 1983). Only a few sampling programs collect fishes and invertebrates with identical methods across groups of estuaries within a region. Examples include inshore trawl surveys conducted by the Massachusetts Divi- sion of Marine Fisheries (Howe et al. 1991), the Maine Department of Marine Resources (MDMR 1993), and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (Hammerschmidt and McEachron 1986). Therefore, most existing estuarine fisheries data cannot be com- pared among estuaries because of the variable sam- pling strategies. In addition, existing research pro- grams do not focus on how groups of estuaries may be important for regional fishery management, and few compile information for species having little or no economic value. Because many species use both estuarine and marine habitats during their various life stages, information on their distribution, abundance, temporal utilization and life history characteristics are needed to under- stand the coupling of estuarine, nearshore, and off- shore habitats. Consequently, the ELMR program was developed to integrate fragments of information on these species and their associated habitats into a useful, comprehensive and consistent format. Until recently, a national data base of this type did not exist (Figure 2). Results from the ELMR program contribute to NOAA's development of a national estuarine assessment capa- bility (NOAA 1985a), identify information gaps, and assess the content and quality of existing estuarine fisheries data. ELMR data are being incorporated into the National Coastal Assessment and Data Synthesis Framework (CA&DS), which integrates national data sets for 138 estuaries within a spatial framework with analytical capabilities (Orlando 1999). In addition, the ELMR data are being used to define Essential Fish Habitat under the revised Magnuson-Stevens Act (NOAA 1996, NOAA/GMFMC 1998). Base ELMR Data Collection An initial pilot study was completed in 1986 for U.S. West Coast estuaries to determine the feasibility and scope of a national ELMR program, and to evaluate the proposed ELMR methodology (Monaco 1986). It was determined that the amount of information that could be compiled for each species and estuary on a nationwide basis was limited, and that it would be both time and cost-prohibitive to map each species by life stage for each estuary. Therefore, a spatial frame- Table 1. ELMR regional data bases and reports, completion dates, revisions/updates, and applications. Data base and Life history Data revisions Specific Region summary report summary report and updates applications* West Coast 1990 1991 Gulf of Mexico 1992 1997 1998 GWIS, EFH Southeast 1992 in progress 1998 EFH, ESI Mid-Atlantic 1994 in progress in progress EFH. ESI North Atlantic 1994 in progress in progress EFH, ESI 'Specific applications: GWIS = Gulfwide Information System. EFH = Essential Fish Habitat designation. ESI = Environmental Sensitivity Index maps. work, using estuarine salinity zones based on the National Estuarine Inventory (NEI), was adopted (NOAA 1985). Figure 2 summarizes the major steps taken to collect and organize this information. The initial steps were to select the estuaries and species for study. Selection of estuaries. Estuaries in each region were selected from the National Estuarine Inventory (NED Data Atlas-Volume I (NOAA 1985a). Additional estu- aries were added after discussions with regional re- searchers. The 122 selected estuaries are listed in Table 2 (their locations within each region are shown in Figures 6, 8, 10, 13, and 16). Data on the spatial and temporal distributions of species were compiled for the tidal fresh (0.0-0.5 parts per thousand (ppt)), mixing (0.5-25.0 ppt), and seawa- ter (> 25 ppt) zones delineated for each estuary in the NEI. Many of the estuaries within each region contain all three salinity zones, but for the purposes of this study, some zones are considered to be absent. For example, the tidal Potomac River in Maryland has no seawater zone, and Morro Bay in California has no tidal fresh zone. Salinity zones that are only season- ally present or are extremely small (<1 km2) were generally omitted from this large-scale assessment (NOAA 1985a). The NEI is now being superceded by NOAA's Na- tional Coastal Assessment and Data Synthesis Frame- work (CA&DS), which integrates national data sets for 138 estuaries within a spatial framework with analytical capabilities (Orlando 1999). CA&DS is a national and regional-scale data base and mapping analysis system that provides a capability to access, synthesize, assess and apply nationwide data sets to priority coastal issues, such as estuarine eutrophica- tion, habitat loss, coastal monitoring, and sustainable coastal communities. The spatial framework includes: • Spatial geographies for 150 estuaries, major rivers, and coastal offshore areas. • National data sets for coastal resources (including ELMR), environmental quality, and socio-economic activities. • An interactive web-based data access and mapping system that allows users to view, conduct compara- tive analyses, and download information. Selection of species. ELMR staff biologists used the following four criteria, together with data availabil- ity, to select species for inclusion in each regional ELMR data base: • Commercial value — determined by review of catch data and value statistics from NMFS and state agen- cies (NOAA 1992a, NOAA 1992b). • Recreational value — determined by relative im- portance in recreational fisheries that may or may not be commercially exploited. Recreational species were determined by consulting regional experts and NMFS reports (Essig et al. 1991, VanVoorhees et al. 1992). National Estuarine Inventory Data 122 Estuaries Compile Estuary Information Prepare Species/Estuary Data Sheets Peer Review: Data Verification Microcomputer Data Base Develop Life History Summaries Outputs Spatial Distribution Temporal Distribution Relative Abundance Data Reliability Figure 2. Major steps to complete the National ELMR study, 1985-1994. Table 2. ELMR estuaries (n=122), by region. North Atlantic ELMR Estuaries (n=17) State(s) Gulf of Mexico ELMR Estuaries (n=31) State(s) Passamaquoddy Bay ME Florida Bay FL Englishman/Machias Bays ME Ten Thousand Islands FL Narraguagus Bay ME Charlotte Harbor FL Blue Hill Bay ME Caloosahatchee River FL Penobscot Bay ME Tampa Bay FL Muscongus Bay ME Suwanee River FL Damariscotta River ME Apalachee Bay FL Sheepscot River ME Apalachicola Bay FL Kennebec/Androscoggin Rivers ME St. Andrew Bay FL Casco Bay ME Choctawhatchee Bay FL Saco Bay ME Pensacola Bay FL Wells Harbor ME Perdido Bay FL/AL Great Bay NH/ME Mobile Bay AL Merrimack River MA Mississippi Sound MS/AL/LA Massachusetts Bay MA Lake Borgne LA Boston Harbor MA Lake Pontchartrain LA Cape Cod Bay MA BretorVChandeleur Sounds LA Mississippi River LA Mid-Atlantic ELMR Estuaries (n=22) State(s) Barataria Bay LA Waquoit Bay MA Terrebonne/Timbalier Bays LA Buzzards Bay MA Atchafalaya/Vermilion Bays LA Narragansett Bay RI/MA Calcasieu Lake LA Gardiners Bay NY Sabine Lake LA/TX Long Island Sound CT/NY Galveston Bay TX Connecticut River CT Brazos River TX Great South Bay NY Matagorda Bay TX Hudson River/Raritan Bay NJ/NY San Antonio Bay TX Barnegat Bay NJ Aransas Bay TX New Jersey Inland Bays NJ Corpus Christi Bay TX Delaware Bay DE/NJ/PA Laguna Madre TX Delaware Inland Bays DE Baffin Bay TX Chincoteague Bay MDA/A Chesapeake Bay MDA/A West Coast ELMR Estuaries (n=32) State(s) Potomac River M DA/ A/DC Puget Sound WA Rappahannock River VA Hood Canal WA York River VA Skagit Bay WA James River VA Grays Harbor WA Patuxent River MD Willapa Bay WA Chester River MD Columbia River OR7WA Choptank River MD Nehalem Bay OR Tangier/Pocomoke Sound MD Tillamook Bay OR Netarts Bay OR Southeast ELMR Estuaries (n=20) State(s) Siletz Bay OR Albemarle Sound NC/VA Yaquina Bay OR Pamlico Sound NC Alsea Bay OR Pamlico and Pungo Rivers NC Siuslaw River OR Neuse River NC Umpqua River OR Bogue Sound NC Coos Bay OR New River NC Rogue River OR Cape Fear River NC Klamath River CA Winyah Bay SC Humboldt Bay CA North and South Santee Rivers SC Eel River CA Charleston Harbor SC Tomales Bay CA St. Helena Sound SC Central San Francisco/San Pablo/Suisun Bays CA Broad River SC South San Francisco Bay CA Savannah River GA/SC Elkhorn Slough CA Ossabaw Sound GA Morro Bay CA St. Catherine / Sapelo Sound GA Santa Monica Bay CA Altamaha River GA San Pedro Bay CA St. Andrew / St. Simon Sound GA Alamitos Bay CA St. Johns River FL Anaheim Bay CA Indian River FL Newport Bay CA Biscayne Bay FL Mission Bay CA San Diego Bay CA Tijuana River CA • Indicator of environmental stress — determined from the literature, discussions with fisheries experts, and from monitoring programs such as NOAA's Na- tional Status and Trends Program (O'Connor 1990). These species are typically molluscs or demersal fishes that consume benthic invertebrates or have a strong association with bottom sediments. Their physiologi- cal disorders, morphological abnormalities, and bioaccumulation of contaminants, such as heavy met- als, indicate exposure to environmental pollution and/ or stress. • Ecological value — based on several attributes including trophic level, relative abundance, and im- portance as a key predator or prey species. Table 3 features the 153 species selected for all five ELMR regions collectively. Note that some species are included in one region only (e.g., dungeness crab on West Coast), whereas other species are considered for several regions (e.g., blue crab in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Gulf of Mexico). The common and scientific names of fish and invertebrate species are generally those adopted by the American Fisheries Society (Turgeon et al. 1988, Williams et al. 1988, Robins et al. 1991). (Species lists for each of the five ELMR regions are featured in Tables 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16). For the majority of species considered in the ELMR program, growth and development involve a direct progression through several distinct life stages. Ac- cordingly, the ELMR program has compiled informa- tion based on five "typical" life stages: adult (A), spawning adult (S), juvenile (J), larvae (L) and egg (E). Adults were defined as reproductively mature indi- viduals, while juveniles were defined as immature but otherwise similar to adults. Species with a larval stage typically undergo metamorphosis to the juve- nile stage; hence, larvae usually differ from juveniles and adults in form. In addition, most species rely on external fertilization via spawning, when gametes combine externally after being released by males and / or females. Therefore, spawning adults were defined as those releasing eggs or sperm, and larvae and eggs included most early life history stages. The complex life histories of some species, and the subsequent difficulty in placing them into a compre- hensive classification scheme, required some devia- tion from this general classification. The reproductive mode of certain species differs from the norm in that there is internal fertilization of eggs, ovoviviparity, delayed fertilization, etc. For example, mating (M) replaces spawning (S) for crab species, and parturi- tion (P) replaces spawning (S) for shark species. For some species, several distinct larval life stages must be considered collectively as "larvae," including: the phyllosome and puerulus stages of lobster species; the zoea and megalopa stages of crab species; the nauplius, protozoea, mysis, and postlarval stages of shrimp species; and the trochophore, veliger, and pediveliger stages of bivalve molluscs. The lepto- cephalus stage of tarpon is considered larval, as is the "paralarva" stage of bay squid. Each regional ELMR data summary report identifies cases in which alter- nate life history stages have been considered, cases in which two or more species are considered as a single unit, comments on specific habitat preferences and behaviors, and other pertinent life history informa- tion. Data sheet development. A data sheet was developed for each species in each estuary to facilitate the review and presentation of the information. Data compiled for each species/life stage included: (1) the salinity zone it occupies (seawater, mixing, tidal fresh), (2) its monthly distribution in those zones, and (3) its rela- tive abundance in those zones. Figure 3 depicts the data sheet for weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) in Delaware Bay. The ELMR program uses the following methodology to evaluate species relative abundance rankings based upon available data that reflect the expected or ob- served "average" rankings for selected species. As- signing abundance levels is often difficult due to the lack of long-term, consistent sampling surveys for most species within and across many estuaries. How- ever, the existing literature and the field experience of local and regional reviewers provide the basis for reasonably accurate synoptic abundance rankings. For well-studied species, quantitative data were used to estimate the relative abundance within estuaries. The integration of quantitative data and expert review resulted in the "final" level of abundance assigned to a species. The reviews by regional fisheries scientists complemented the quantitative studies, and greatly increased the reliability of species relative abundance information. Categorical spatial and temporal distribution and rela- tive abundance data were compiled from data sets, technical reports, and peer-reviewed literature on estuarine species. Fisheries data often reveal consid- erable spatial and temporal heterogeneity due to envi- ronmental variation (e.g., wet year, cold year, etc.), biological variation (e.g., high recruitment year, low year class, etc.), and anthropogenic variation (e.g., fishery mortality, sampling error, etc.). Given the inherent variability in fisheries studies, this informa- tion was integrated to best define current distribu- Text continues on p. 9. Table 3. ELMR species Invertebrates Common Name (n=153), by region. Scientific Name ELMR Regions North Atlantic (n=58) Mid Atlantic (n=62) Southeast Atlantic (n=4TJJ Gull '.( Mexico (n=44) West Coast [n= W) Blue mussel Mytilus edulis & ® a a Bay scallop Argopecten irradians S a a Sea scallop Placopeclen magellanicus a Pacific oyster Crassoslrea gigas m American oyster Crassostrea virgmtca a HI a a Atlantic rangia Rangia cuneala a a Horseneck gaper Tresus capax a Pacific gaper Tresus nuttalln a California |acknife clam Tagelus calitomtanus a Quahogs Mercenaria species m ■ a a Pacific littleneck clam Protothaca slammea a Manila clam Tapes philippinarum a Softshell Mya arenana a ® a Geoduck Panopea abrupla a Bay squid Lolliguncula bievis a Bay shnmp Crangon Iranciscorum a Sevenspine bay shrimp Crangon septemspmosa a » Brown shrimp Penaeus aztecus a a a Pink shnmp Penaeus duorarum a a White shrimp Penaeus selilerus a a Daggerblade grass shnmp Palaemonetes pugio m e a a Northern shnmp Pandalus borealis a m Amencan lobster Homarus amencanus m & Spiny lobster Panulirus argus a Jonah crab Cancer borealis m Atlantic rock crab Cancer irroratus a Dungeness crab Cancer magister a Blue crab Callinectes sapidus m a a Green crab Carcmus maenas a Gulf stone crab Menippe adina a Stone crab Menippe mercenana a Green sea urchin Slrongylocentrotusdroehbachiensis a Fishes Bull shark Carcharhmus leucas a Leopard shark Tnakis semifasciata a Spiny dogfish Squatus acanthias a Skates Ra/a spp. a m Atlantic stingray Dasyalis sabina m Cownose ray Rhinoptera bonasus ® Shortnose sturgeon Acipenser breviroslrum a s Green sturgeon Actpenser medtrostns a Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrhynchus a m a White sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus a Ladyfish Elops saurus a Tarpon Megalops allanlicus a American eel Anguilla roslrala a m a Blueback herring Alosa aestivalis a m a Alabama shad Alosa alabamae a Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus a & a Amencan shad Alosa sapidissima 9 m a a Gulf menhaden Brevoortia patronus a Yellowfin menhaden Brevoortia smith! a Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus a s a Atlantic herring Clupea harengus a ■ Pacific herring Clupea pallasi a Gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum a Deepbody anchovy Anchoa compressa a Slough anchovy Anchoa delicatissima a Bay anchovy Anchoa mitchilli m a a Northern anchovy Engraulis mordax a Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus ® Hardhead cattish Anus fete a Surf smelt Hypomesus preliosus a Rainbow smelt Osmerus mordax a m Longfin smelt Spinnchus thaleichthys a Eulachon Thaleichthys paciUcus a Cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki a Pink salmon O. gorbuscha • Chum salmon 0 keta a Coho salmon O kisutch a Steelhead O. mykiss a Sockeye salmon O. nerka a Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha a Atlantic salmon Salmo salar m a Atlantic cod Gadus morhua a a Haddock Melanogrammus aegletmus m a Silver hake Merluccius bilmeans m Table 3, continued. ELMR Regions Fishes, continued Common Name Scientific Name North Mid- Southeasl Gulf of Wesl Atlantic Atlantic Atlantic Mexico Coast (n=58) (n=62) (n=40) (n=44) (n=55) Pacific tomcod Atlantic tomcod Pollock Red hake Whrte hake Oyster toadfish Sheepshead minnow Gulf killifish Mummichog Topsmelt Jacksmelt Silversides Foursptne stickleback Threespine stickleback Nmespine stickleback Northern pipefish Northern searobtn Lmgcod Pacific staghom sculptn Grubby Longhom sculpm Shorthorn scuipin Snook White perch Striped bass Black sea bass Kelp bass Barred sand bass Yellow perch Bluefish Cotna Blue runner Crevalfe |ack Flonda pompano Gray snapper Sheepshead Pinfish Scup White seabass Silver perch Sand seatrout Spotted seatroul Weakfish White croaker Spot Southern kingfish Northern kingfish Atlantic croaker Black drum Red drum Shiner perch Striped mullet Tautog Cunner Ocean pout Rock gunnel Amencan sand iance Pacific sand lance Arrow goby Gobies Code goby Atlantic mackerel Spanish mackerel Butterfish Gulf flounder California halibut Summer flounder Southern flounder Windowpane American plaice Diamond turbot Starry flounder Winter flounder Yellowtail flounder Smooth flounder English sole Hogchoker Microgadus proximus Microgadus tomcod ® Pollachius virens ® Urophycis chuss ® Urophycis tenuis ® Opsanus tau Cypnnodon vanegatus Fundutus grandis Fundulus heteroclitus ® Athennops affinis Athennopsis califomiensis Menidia spp. Apeltes quadracus Gasterosteus acuteatus Pungitius pungitius Syngnathus fuscus Pnonotus caroltnus Ophiodon elongatus Leptocottus armatus Myoxocephalus aenaeus Myoxocephalus octodecemspmosus Myoxocephalus scorpius Centropomus undecimahs Morone amencana Morone saxatilis Centropristis striata Paralabrax clathratus Paralabrax nebulifer Perca flavescens Pomatomus saltatrix Rachycentrum canadum Caranx crysos Caranx hippos Trachinotus carolinus Lufyanus griseus Archosargus probatocephalus Lagodon momboides Stenotomus chrysops Atractosaon nobihs Bairdiella chrysoura Cynoscion arenanus Cynoscion nebulosus Cynoscion regalis Genyonemus (meatus Leiostomus xanthurus Menticirrhus amencanus Menticirrhus saxatilis Micropogonias undulatus Pogomas cromis Sciaenops ocellatus Cymatogaster aggregata Mugil cephalus Tautoga onitis Tautogolabrus adspersus Macrozoarces amencanus Pholis gunnellus Ammodytes amencanus Ammodytes hexapterus Clevelandia 10s Gobiosoma species Gobiosoma robustum Scomber scombrus Scomberomorus maculatus Pepnlus tnacanthus Paralichthys albigutta Paralichthys califomicus Paralichthys dentatus Paralichthys lethostigma Scophthalmus aquosus ® Hippoglossoides platessoides ® Hypsopsetta guttulata Platichthys stellatus Pleuronectes amencanus ® Pleuronectes ferrugineus ® Pleuronectes putnami ® Pleuronectes vetulus Tnnectes maculatus ® ® ® ® ® e m m m & ® m m m m ® m ® ® ® ® & m ® & 8 m ® m ® ® m m m ® m 8 8 9 8 m 8 8 m & m 8 8 & ® 8 m 8 8 m 8 8 m m m 8 m m & 8 m & & 8 8 8 8 8 8 ® 8 8 8 8 ® 8 8 8 8 Table 4. ELMR species guilds, by region. Sessile invertebrates North Atlantic Mid- Atlantic Southeast Gulf of Mexico Wesi Coast Blue mussel Sea scallop American oyster Hard dam (quahog) Sottshell clam Green sea urchin Shrimps and squids North Atlantic Blue mussel Bay scallop American oyster Hard dam (quahog) Sottshell dam Mld-Atlantlc Blue mussel Bay scallop Amencan oyster Common rangia Hard dam (quahog) Southeast Bay scallop Amencan oyster Common rangia Hard dam (quahog) Gulf of Mexico Blue mussel Pacific oyster Horseneck gaper Pacific gaper Calrfornia (acknrle dam Pacific Irttleneck dam Manila dam Sottshell calm Geoduck Wet Coast Daggerblade grass shnmp Northern shnmp Sevenspine bay shnmp Large crustaceans North Atlantic Brown shnmp Grass shnmp Sevenspine bay shnmp Brown shnmp Pink shnmp White shnmp Grass shnmp Southeast Bay squid Brown shnmp Pink shnmp Whrte shnmp Grass shnmp Guff of Mexico Bay shnmp West Coast Amencan lobster Jonah crab Atlantic rock crab Green crab Amencan lobster Blue crab Blue crab Spiny lobster Blue crab Gulf stone crab Stone crab Dungeness crab Shallow water fishes North Atlantic Mid- Atlantic Southeast Gulf of Mexico West Coast Mummichog Silvers ides Fourspine stickleback Threesptne stickleback Nmespine stickleback Northern pipefish Amencan sand lance Bay anchovy Sheepshead minnow Mummichog Silverstdes Northern pipefish Sand lance Gobies Bay anchovy Sheepshead minnow Mummichog Silversides Bay anchovy Sheepshead minnow Gulf killrtish Silversides Code goby Deepbody anchovy Slough anchovy Northern anchovy Threespme stickleback Pacific sand lance Arrow goby Pelagic fishes North Atlantic Mld-Atlantlc Southeast Gulf of Mexico West Coast Blueback herring Alewrfe Amencan shad Atlantic menhaden Atlantic hemng Rainbow smeft Atlantic salmon Whrte perch Stnped bass Bluefish Atlantic mackerel Butterfish Demersal fishes North Atlantic Blueback herring Alewrfe Amencan shad Atlantic menhaden Atlantic hernng Rainbow smelt Atlantic salmon White perch Striped bass Black sea bass Yellow perch Bluefish Atlantic mackerel Butterfish Mld-Atlantlc Ladyfish Blueback hernng Alewrfe Amencan shad Atlantic menhaden Whrte perch Stnped bass Black sea bass Bluefish Cobia Spanish mackerel Butterfish Tarpon Alabama shad Gulf menhaden Yellowfin menhaden Gizzard shad Snook Bluefish Blue runner Crevalle jack Flonda pompano Silver perch Spanish mackerel Southeast Gulf of Mexico Amencan shad Padfic hernng Cuttthroat trout Pink salmon Chum salmon Coho salmon Steelhead Sockeye salmon Chinook salmon Surf smelt Lobgfm smelt Topsmelt Jack smeft Stnped Bass Kelp bass Barred sand Bass White seabass Shiner perch Eulachon West Coast Spiny dogfish Skates Shortnose sturgeon Atlantic sturgeon Amencan eel Atlantic cod Haddock Silver hake Atlantic tomcod Pollock Red hake Whrte hake Northern sea robin Grubby Longhorn sculpin Shorthorn sculpin Scup Tautog Cunner Ocean pout Rock gunnel Windowpane flounder American plaice Winter flounder Yellowtail flounder Smooth flounder Skates Atlantic stingray Cownose ray Shortnose sturgeon Atlantic sturgeon American eel Channel catfish Atlantic cod Haddock Atlantic tomcod Pollock Red hake Oyster toadfish Northern searobin Pinfish Scup Spotted seatrout Weakfish Spot Northern ktngfish Atlantic croaker Black drum Red drum Tautog Cunner Mullet Summer flounder Windowpane flounder Winter flounder Hogchoker Atlantic sturgeon Amencan eel Gray snapper Sheepshead Pinfish Spotted seatrout Stnped mullet Weakfish Spot Southern kmgfish Atlantic croaker Black drum Red drum Gulf flounder Summer flounder Southern flounder Bull shark Hardhead catfish Flonda pompano Gray snapper Sheepshead Pinfish Sand seatrout Spotted seatrout Stnped mullet Spot Atlantic croaker Black drum Red drum Guff flounder Southern flounder Leopard shark Green sturgeon Whrte sturgeon Padfic tomcod Whrte croaker Lingcod Pacific staghorn sculpin California halibut Diamond turbot English sole Starry flounder tions and abundances, taking into account the many sources of variability- The integrated quantitative and qualitative relative abundance estimates were then verified through an extensive review process utilizing expert knowledge and field experiences of fisheries scientists, managers, and field biologists. The relative abundance categories — highly abun- dant, abundant, common, rare, and not present — were intended to simulate the categories routinely used by fisheries biologists. This type of comprehen- sive and consistent format is readily understandable by field biologists, fisheries managers, and academic scientists alike. An ordinal relative abundance scheme of this type is often adopted in the field, at least casually, and the ELMR methodology has only de- fined this classification scheme more rigorously. The abundance of a species life stage was considered relative to that of the same life stage of other "similar species." Similar species were considered to be those having similar life modes and gear susceptibilities (e.g. skates and flounders, bluefish and striped bass). From the ELMR regional species lists, several groups, or guilds, of species were derived, summarized in Table 4. These guilds are: • Sessile Invertebrates • Shrimps and Squids • Large Crustaceans • Shallow Water Fishes • Pelagic Fishes • Demersal Fishes Cynoscion regalis Weakfish Delaware Bay Delaware / New Jersey / Pennsylvania Salinity zone Life stage Relative abundance by month JFMAMJJ ASOND R Tidal fresh 0.0 - 0.5 ppt Adults Spawning Juveniles Larvae Eggs Mixing 0.5 - 25.0 ppt Adults Spawning Juveniles Larvae Eggs Seawater >25.0 ppt Adults Spawning Juveniles Larvae 2 2 Eggs 2 Legend: Relative Abundance: = Not Present = Rare = Common = Abundant = Highly Abundant Data Reliability (R): 1 = Highly Certain 2 = Moderately Certain 3 = Reasonable Inference Figure 3. Example of a species/estuary data sheet: weakfish in Delaware Bay. The species within each guild were used to assess each others' relative abundance based on the following steps: Step 1 . For each species within a guild, each life stage's occurrence by month was assessed in each salinity zone. In any given community, some species are more abundant than others. Based upon the relative abun- dance of species within a guild, six ELMR relative abundance rankings can be described: Highly Abundant — species is numerically domi- nant relative to other species within a guild. Abundant — species is often encountered in substan- tial numbers relative to other species in a guild. Common — species is generally encountered, but not in large numbers; distribution may be patchy. Rare — species is present, but not frequently encoun- tered. Not Present — species or life stage is not found, questionable data as to identification of species, or recent loss or degradation of habitat suggests absence. No Information Available — no data available, and after expert review it was determined that even an educated guess would not be appropriate. Step 2. Within a guild, it was determined which species had the highest abundance at any time of the year in a particular salinity zone. This species (or several species) was considered to be the "guide spe- cies" based upon its numerical dominance during much of the year. This species will normally be ranked as "highly abundant" during months when its occurrence peaks. However, in some situations, if the guide species was considered to be less than highly abundant (but still the most abundant species in this salinity zone), a lower ranking (e.g., abundant or common) was used, and other species rankings were adjusted accordingly. Step 3. Next, a hierarchical ranking of the remaining species in the guild was constructed based on the ELMR ranking scheme. This hierarchy considered the species peaking approximately one order of magni- tude below the guide species' peak to be abundant during months of maximum occurrence. Rare spe- cies/life stages are those that are definitely present but not frequently encountered in a given month or salinity zone. This procedure establishes relative abundance categories for each species within a guild. As each species' abundance fluctuates between these categories during the year, so will its relative abun- dance ranking. Also, it can be seen that this ranking procedure does not always indicate months of peak occurrence for a given species' life stage. In cases where quantitative data sets were available, the original ELMR methodology (1988-1994) gener- ally used an "order of magnitude" analysis to derive relative abundance rankings (Figure 4). As an ex- ample, ELMR relative abundance levels for shallow- water fishes in Wells Harbor, Maine, were derived from survey data reported by Ayvazian et al. (1992). In this field study, bag-seines and trawls were utilized for several months to sample nearshore and open- water habitats and the catch data for shallow water fishes. The numerical data were transformed into categorical data using these algorithms: Estuarine spatial framework: Species life history information: Relative abundance methodolgy: 1985-1994 Three salinity zones, annual- averaged 1995-1998 n Life history summaries and tables Qualitative relative abundance ranking Five salinity zones, four seasons Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) modeling Quantile ranking using quantitative data sets Geographic Information System (GIS) Spatial Outputs Seasonal abundance maps by estuary, species Regional abundance maps by species Estuarine Habitat Suitability maps by species Figure 4. Evolution of the ELMR program, 1985-1998. 10 x = maximum abundance of the most abundant species (i.e., guide species within a guild) y = log x highly abundant = x to 10'* "^ abundant = 1(P "s"-l to 101-25"' common = lO'-^'-l to lO'"-75?1 rare = lO^^-l to 1 The ELMR abundance rankings for Wells Harbor incorporated these derived data, and all other avail- able data, and are summarized in the North Atlantic ELMR report (Jury et al. 1994, Monaco 1995). From 1995 to the present, a "quantile analysis," rather than the "order of magnitude" method, has been used to update and revise the ELMR data base for the Gulf of Mexico, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and North Atlantic regions. Approximately eight years were required to develop the 6,252 data sheets and consult with 441 scientists and managers at 177 institutions (see regional reports for names and affiliations). As stated previously, this review process complemented the information gath- ered from the literature and published data sets com- piled by NOAA. Life History Summaries and Tables To complement the distribution and abundance infor- mation described above, a life history summary and a set of life history tables have been developed for each species. These summaries and tables have been pub- lished for the West Coast (Emmett et al. 1991) and the Gulf of Mexico (Pattillo et al. 1997) regions. The summaries are not intended to be a complete treatise on all aspects of each species' biology, but rather, they provide a concise account of the most important physi- cal and biological factors known to affect a species' occurrence within estuaries. As a supplement to the life history summaries, their content was augmented with additional physical and biological criteria and condensed into three life history tables. These tables present life history characteristics for each species, along with behavioral traits and preferred habitats. Life History Summaries. A concise life history sum- mary was written for each species to provide an overview of how and when a species uses estuaries and what specific habitats it uses. The summaries emphasize species-specific life history characteristics that relate directly to estuarine spatial and temporal distribution and abundance (e.g., many molluscs have particular salinity and substrate preferences). Infor- mation for the species life history summaries was gathered primarily from published and unpublished literature, and experts with species-specific knowl- edge were also consulted. Summaries were written using a prescribed format and outline (Table 5, next page). Included with each species life history summary is a relative abundance table based on regional ELMR data, with minor revisions based on review. These tables provide a synopsis of the species' occurrence in the regional estuaries. Information for each table was obtained by summarizing the ELMR data for each month of the year and across all salinity zones to obtain the highest level of abundance for each life stage. Hence, these tables depict a species' highest abundance within an estuary by life stage, but lack temporal and spatial resolution. Examples are pro- vided in Tables 6 and 7, p. 14. Life History Tables. While the species life history summaries provide brief accounts of important life history attributes, they do not permit a direct and simple assessment of characteristics that a species shares with others. Furthermore, many life history attributes are categorical (e.g., feeding types can be classified as carnivore, herbivore, detritivore, etc.) and more easily viewed in a tabular format. There- fore, information found in the species life history summaries was augmented with additional physical and biological criteria and condensed into three life history tables: Habitat Associations, Biological At- tributes, and Reproduction (Figure 5, p. 13). These tables present life history characteristics for each spe- cies along with behavior traits and preferred habitats. They reflect the most current information about a species as gathered from published and unpublished literature and can be used to quickly identify species with similar traits. Figure 5 depicts the headers used for these tables in the Gulf of Mexico Volume 11 report (Pattillo et al. 1997). Text continues on p. 15. 11 Table 5. Format of species life history summaries (Emmett et al. 1991, Pattillo et al. 1997). Common Name: the most often used common name. Scientific Name: the most recent taxonomic genus and species name. Other Common Names: other names that are sometimes used for a species. Classification: the most recent taxonomic classification (Phylum, Class, Order, and Family). Value Commercial: information on commercial harvest. Recreational: information on recreational fisheries. Indicator of Environmental Stress: identifies if a species is an indicator of environmental degradation. Ecological: the role (e.g., key predator or prey) a species plays in marine/estuarine ecosystems. Range Overall: the complete range of a species. Within Study Area: the range of a species within regional estuaries. In addition, each summary contains a relative abundance table (derived from information in Volume I of the series) for the regional estuaries. Life Mode: the life history strategy of a species and its life stages (e.g., anadromous, estuarine resident). Habitat Type: the habitats used by specific life stages (e.g., riverine, neritic, epipelagic). Substrate: the substrate preferences of specific life stages. Physical/Chemical Characteristics: the physical and water chemistry preferences of specific life stages (e.g., temperature and salinity). Migrations and Movements: the movements and migratory behavior of a species/life stage between or within habitats. Reproduction /Wode.type of reproductive strategy (e.g., oviparous, viviparous) and fertilization (e.g., external, internal). Mating/Spawning: timing of spawning and description of mating or spawning behavior. Fecundity: the number of eggs or young produced by an individual. Growth and Development Egg Size and Embryonic Development: the size of an egg and length of time for embryonic development. Age and Size of Larvae: the age and size range of larvae. Juveniles Size Range: the size range of juveniles. Age and Size of Adults: the age and size range of adults. Food and Feeding Trophic mode: type of feeder (e.g., carnivorous, herbivorous). Food Items: the types of prey eaten (e.g., copepods, amphipods, larval fish). Biological Interactions Predation: predators known to consume a species. Factors Influencing Populations: biological and physical parameters that are known to influence a species' population abundance (e.g., overfishing, ocean productivity, spawning habitat, parasites). Personal communications: individuals that provided relevant information. References: alphabetical listing of literature cited. 12 Figure 5. Life history table headers: Habitat Associations, Biological Attributes, and Reproduction. 13 Table 6. Example of species/life stage occurence table: Relative abundance of dungeness crab in 32 U.S. Pacific Coast estuaries (Emmett et al. 1991). Life Stage Estuary A M J L E Puget Sound ® O • o o Hood Canal O O • o o Skagit Bay ® O • o o Grays Harbor O • o Willapa Bay O • o Columbia River O • o Nehalem Bay ® • Tillamook Bay ® • Netarts Bay o • Siletz River o ® Yaquina Bay ® • Alsea River ® • Siuslaw River ® • Umpqua River o • Coos Bay ® O • o Rogue River o ® Klamath River o o Humboldt Bay o • ® Eel River o • o Tomales Bay o • o Cent. San Fran. Bay * i± • V South San Fran. Bay V o V Elkhorn Slough V V V Morro Bay V V Santa Monica Bay San Pedro Bay Alamitos Bay Anaheim Bay Newport Bay Mission Bay San Diego Bay Tijuana Estuary Includes Central San A M J L E Table 7. Example of species/life stage occurence table: Relative abundance of spotted seatrout in 31 U.S. Gulf of Mexico estuaries (Pattillo et al. 1997). Life stage Francisco. Suisun, and San Pablo bays. Relative abundance: Life stage: O Highly abundant ® Abundant O Common V Rare blank Not present A - Adults M- Mating J - Juveniles L - Larvae E - Eggs Estuary A S J L E Florida Bay ® ® ® ® ® Ten Thousand Islands O o o o o Caloosahatchee River O o o o o Charlotte Harbor ® ® ® ® ® Tampa Bay O o o o o Suwannee River ® ® ® ® ® Apalachee Bay O o o o o Apalachicola Bay O o o o o St. Andrew Bay ® o o o o Choctawhatchee Bay ® V ® ® V Pensacola Bay o o o o o Perdido Bay o V o o V Mobile Bay h®- V ® ® V Mississippi Sound 25 ppt) Salinity zone not present ItImIsI ItImI si [tImIs! FWsl ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImI si ilfMlsl I tImI s] ItImIsI rTiMra ImIsI nrfMTsI ItImI 1 1 1 Isl rM$\ ImIsI * Figure 6. Location of 17 North Atlantic ELMR estuaries and associated salinity zones. 16 Table 8. ELMR North Atlantic species (n=58). Common name Scientific name Blue mussel Sea scallop American oyster Northern quahog Softshell clam Daggerblade grass shrimp Northern shrimp Sevenspine bay shrimp American lobster Jonah crab Atlantic rock crab Green crab Green sea urchin Spiny dogfish Skates Shortnose sturgeon Atlantic sturgeon American eel Blueback herring Alewife American shad Atlantic menhaden Atlantic herring Rainbow smelt Atlantic salmon Atlantic cod Haddock Silver hake Atlantic tomcod Pollock Red hake White hake Mummichogs Silversides Fourspine stickleback Threespine stickleback Ninespine stickleback Northern pipefish Northern searobin Grubby Longhorn sculpin Shorthorn sculpin White perch Striped bass Bluefish Scup Tautog Cunner Ocean pout Rock gunnel American sand lance Atlantic mackerel Butterfish Windowpane flounder American plaice Winter flounder Yellowtail flounder Smooth flounder Mytilus edulis Placopecten magellanicus Crassostrea virginica Mercenaria mercenaria Mya arenaria Palaemonetes pugio Pandalus borealis Crangon septemspinosa Homarus americanus Cancer borealis Cancer irroratus Carcinus maenas Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis Squalus acanthias Raja species Acipenser brevirostrum Acipenser oxyrhynchus Anguilla rostrata Alosa aestivalis Alosa pseudoharengus Alosa sapid issi ma Brevoortia tyrannus Clupea harengus Osmerus mordax Salmo salar Gadus morhua Melanogrammus aeglefinus Merluccius bilinearis Microgadus tomcod Pollachius virens Urophycis chuss Urophycis tenuis Fundulus heteroclitus Menidia species Apeltes quadracus Gasterosteus aculeatus Pungitius pungitius Syngnathus fuscus Prionotus carolinus Myoxocephalus aenaeus Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus Myoxocephalus scorpius Morone americana Morone saxatilis Pomatomus saltatrix Stenotomus chrysops Tautoga onitis Tautogolabrus adspersus Macrozoarces americanus Pholis gunnellus Ammodytes americanus Scomber scombrus Peprilus triacanthus Scophthalmus aquosus Hippoglossoides platessoides Pleuronectes americanus Pleuronectes ferrugineus Pleuronectes putnami 17 Table 9. Occurrence* of 58 ELMR species in 17 North Atlantic estuaries Highest relative abundance of adults or juveniles of a species, in any salinity zone, in any month, within each estuary. Relative Abundance: • - Highly Abundant (D - Abundant 0 - Common >i - Rare blank - Not Present na - No data available Species Blue mussel Sea scallop ® ® ® ® ® o o o V o V o o V ® American oyster V V • o Northern quahog o V V V o V V o V V o o • Softshell clam • o • • • • • • • • • • ® • ® • • Daggerblade grass shrimp V V V o V o o ® Northern shrimp ® o o o ® ® o ® o o V ® o V Sevenspine bay shrimp American lobster o • • • • ® ® • ® • ® 0 ® o ® ® ® Jonah crab V ® ® ® o o ® o • • ® • o V 0 o 0 Rock crab o o ® • ® Green crab ® ® ® ® ® • • • • • • • • ® ® • • Green sea urchin • • • • • • • • • ® o o o o o Spiny dogfish I ® ® ® ® o o o o o o ® V ® Skates o o o o o o o o o o o V o V ® ® • Shortnose sturgeon na V o o Atlantic sturgeon V V V V V V V V V V V V o V na V American eel ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® Blueback herring ® V o o o V o o V o o ® ® ® o o o Alewife ® ® ® ® ® • • • • • • ® • • ® ® ® American shad ® V o V V V V V o V o V o V V V Atlantic menhaden o o o o ® ® ® ® o ® o V V o ® o ® Atlantic herring • • • • • ® ® ® o ® ® • o o ® ® ® Rainbow smelt ® o o o ® ® ® ® ® ® ® o • o ® ® o Atlantic salmon o o o o o V na o o V V V o Atlantic cod o ® ® ® o o o ® o o o V V V o o o Haddock V V V V V V V V V V V V V Silver hake ® ® ® ® ® o o ® o o o V V V o o o Atlantic tomcod ® ® ® ® ® ® ® • • ® ® ® ® o o ® o 18 Table 9, continued. Occurrence of 58 ELMR species in 17 North Atlantic estuaries Relative Abundance: • - Highly Abundant ® - Abundant o - Common V - Rare blank - Not Present na - No data available Species Pollock ® o o o o ® ® ® ® o o V o o ® o • Red hake o o o o o o o o o o o V o V o o ® White hake ® o o o ® o o ® o o o o o V o o o Mummichogs Silversides o o o o Fourspine stickleback o o o o o ® ® o ® o o o o V o o o Threespine stickleback o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Ninespine stickleback o o o o o o o o o o o • o o V o Northern pipefish o V V o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Northern searobin V V V V V V V V V o V o Grubby o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Longhorn sculpin • • • • • • • ® • • ® o o V ® o ® Shorthorn sculpin o o o 0 0 o o o o o o V V V o V V White perch o o o o o o o o o o o V ® o V V Striped bass V o o o o o o o o o o o o V o o o Bluefish V V V V o o o o o o o o o V o o o Scup V V o V o Tautog V V V V V V V V V o o o Cunner o o o o o o 0 o o o o o o V ® ® ® Ocean pout ® o o o o o 0 o o o o V o o o Rock gunnel o o o o o o o o o o o o o V o o o American sand lance o o o o o ® ® ® ® ® ® • o ® ® o ® Atlantic mackerel o o o o o ® ® ® ® o o V o V o o ® Butterfish V V V V V V V V V V V V V o V o Windowpane flounder o o o o ® o o o o o o o o V o o ® American plaice o o o o o • • • • • • V V V • ® • Winter flounder Yellowtail flounder V V V V V V V o V o V V ® ® o Smooth flounder o o o o o ® ® ® ® ® ® o • V V V 19 55 50 45 §40 K 9 H 35 2 _j > c a 20 s 15 10 5 0 55 50 45 $ 0 40 25 ppt na n Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Month Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec North Atlantic estuaries Mixing zones 0.5 - 25 ppt "1 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Month Aug Sep Oct Nov Oec ra 20 g 3 15 10 5\ I North Atlantic estuaries Tidal fresh zones 0.0 - 0.5 ppt L uJhMi 1 L Legend: Adults Juveniles Larvae Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Month Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Figure 7. Mean number of ELMR species in North Atlantic estuaries, by salinity zone, month and life stage. 20 • Juveniles and adults are the predominant life stages present in estuaries, followed by larvae, eggs, and spawning. • The number of species present as juveniles and adults was highest from June through October, and lowest from December through March, with some notable exceptions (e.g., winter flounder, Atlantic herring). • The number of species present as larvae in the mixing and seawater zones was highest in June. Mid-Atlantic Region. The location of the 22 se- lected ELMR Mid-Atlantic estuaries are shown in Figure 8 (next page), and the common and scientific names of the 61 selected ELMR Mid-Atlantic spe- cies are listed in Table 10 (p. 23). Results of the ELMR study in the Mid-Atlantic region are summa- rized in Distribution and Abundance of Fishes and Invertebrates in Mid-Atlantic Estuaries, ELMR Report No. 12 (Stone et al. 1994). Life history summaries and tables are still being developed for the species in this region. Long Island, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Island were formed as end moraines marking the southern extent of the most recent Pliestocene glaciation. Sea levels rose as the gla- ciers melted, drowning the mouths of rivers extend- ing across the Mid-Atlantic continental shelf and forming the estuarine systems present today (NOA A 1985a). Tides are semidiurnal, and range from approximately two meters in Delaware Bay, to less than a meter in tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay (NOAA 1990a). The 61 species selected in the Mid-Atlantic region are generally of the cold-temperate fauna of the Virginian marine biogeographic province. Other selected species have a freshwater origin, such as the yellow perch and channel catfish common in the low-salinity tidal tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. Diadromous species include Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon, American eel, alewife, blueback herring, American shad, and striped bass. Table 11 (p. 24) readily conveys the occurrence of the selected 61 ELMR species in each of the 22 Mid-Atlantic estuar- ies. This table depicts the highest relative abun- dance of the adult or juvenile life stage of each species, in any month, in any salinity zone within each estuary. The spawning, egg, and larval life stage categories are not considered. This table also suggests the zoogeographic distribution of species among Mid-Atlantic estuaries. For example, a few northern species (Atlantic cod, Atlantic salmon) do not occur in estuaries south of Long Island. Bay scallop does not occur in the low-salinity tributaries of the Chesapeake, whereas channel catfish occur primarily in estuaries with tidal riverine habitat. A few eurythermal and euryhaline species such as grass shrimp and silversides are ubiquitous, con- sidered abundant or highly abundant in all Mid- Atlantic estuaries. To examine seasonal patterns of species presence/ absence in Mid-Atlantic estuaries, the numbers of species present (ranked as "rare" or greater) were counted by month and by salinity zone for the adult, juvenile, larval, spawning, and egg life stages. The original ELMR Mid-Atlantic data set (Stone et al. 1994), with revisions for Massachusetts (RPI 1999) was used. In Figure 9, the numbers of species were averaged across estuaries and plotted by month for these life stages. Although these summaries are not statistical analyses, they do provide insights into the seasonal and geographical distribution of selected species in the estuaries: • The number of species appears to be lowest in the tidal fresh zone. However, this is partially due to the fact that the selected ELMR species are primarily estuarine, not freshwater species. In addition, the lack of systematic faunal sur- veys in many tidal freshwater zones contribute to this apparent lower diversity. • Juveniles and adults are the predominant life stages present in estuaries, followed by larvae, spawning, and eggs. • The number of species present as juveniles and adults is generally highest from June through October, and lowest from December through March. • The number of species present as larvae in the mixing and seawater zones is highest from May through July. Text continues on p. 27. 21 Figure 8. Location of 22 Mid-Atlantic ELMR estuaries and associated salinity zones. 22 Table 10. ELMR Mid-Atlantic Common name Blue mussel Bay scallop American oyster Northern quahog Softshell clam Brown shrimp Daggerblade grass shrimp Sevenspine bay shrimp American lobster Blue crab Skates Atlantic stingray Cownose ray Shortnose sturgeon Atlantic sturgeon American eel Blueback herring Alewife American shad Atlantic menhaden Atlantic herring Bay anchovy Channel cattish Rainbow smelt Atlantic salmon Atlantic cod Haddock Atlantic tomcod Pollock Red hake Oyster toadfish Sheepshead minnow Killif ishes Silversides Northern pipefish Northern searobin White perch Striped bass Black sea bass Yellow perch Bluefish Pinfish Scup Spotted seatrout Weakfish Spot Northern kingfish Atlantic croaker Black drum Red drum Mullets Tautog Cunner American sand lance Gobies Atlantic mackerel Butterfish Summer flounder Windowpane flounder Winter flounder Hogchoker species (n=61) Scientific name Mytilus edulis Argopecten irradians Crassostrea virginica Mercenaha mercenaria Mya arenaria Penaeus aztecus Palaemonetes pugio Crangon septemspinosa Homarus americanus Callinectes sapidus Raja species Dasyatis sabina Rhinoptera bonasus Acipenser brevirostrum Acipenser oxyrhynchus Anguilla rostrata Alosa aestivalis Alosa pseudoharengus Alosa sapidissima Brevoortia tyrannus Clupea harengus Anchoa mitchilli Ictalurus punclatus Osmerus mordax Salmo salar Gadus morhua Melanogrammus aeglefinus Microgadus tomcod Pollachius virens Urophycis chuss Opsanus tau Cyprinodon variegatus Fundulus species Menidia species Syngnathus fuscus Prionotus carolinus Morone amehcana Morone saxatilis Centropristis striata Perca flavescens Pomatomus saltatrix Lagodon rhomboides Stenotomus chrysops Cynoscion nebulosus Cynoscion regalis Leiostomus xanthurus Menticirrhus saxatilis Micropogonias undulatus Pogonias cromis Sciaenops ocellatus Mugil species Tautoga onitis Tautogolabrus adspersus Ammodytes americanus Gobiosoma species Scomber scombrus Peprilus triacanthus Paralichthys dentatus Scophthalmus aquosus Pleuronectes americanus Trinectes maculatus 23 Table 11. Occurrence* of 61 ELMR species in 22 Mid-Atlantic estuaries * Highest relative abundance of adults or juveniles of a species, in any salinity zone, in any month, within each estuary. Blue mussel Bay scallop ® ® o o American oyster o o ® ® o o o o o o o o ® o ® Northern quahog ® ® ® ® ® ® o o ® ® Softshell clam ® ® o o o o o ® o ® o o o o o o Brown shrimp o Daggerblade grass shrimp ® ® ® ® Sevenspine bay shrimp ® ® ® ® ® o o o o o o o o o American lobster o ® ® o o o o Blue crab o o o o o o ® o Skates ® ® o o o o o o o o o Atlantic stingray V Cownose ray V ® o o o o o o o o Shortnose sturgeon o o Atlantic sturgeon o o o American eel ® ® ® ® ® o o ® o o ® o ® o o o o o o o o Blueback herring o o o Alewife o o o o o o ® o ® o o o ® ® o o o ® ® ® ® o o o ® ® o o o o American shad ® o o ® o o o o o o o o Atlantic menhaden o ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® Atlantic herring o ® ® o ® o o o o o Bay anchovy ® ® ® Channel catfish o ® na O O o o o o o o o o Rainbow smelt o o o o o o Atlantic salmon o Atlantic cod o Haddock Atlantic tomcod o o o ® ® o o ® Pollock o o o Red hake o o ® o o o o Oyster toadfish o o o o o ® o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Relative abundance: 9 - Highly abundant ® - Abundant O - Common v - Rare Blank - Not present na - No data available 24 Table 1 1, continued. Occurrence of 61 ELMR species in 22 Mid-Atlantic estuaries Sheepshead minnow Killifishes ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® Silversides Northern pipefish o o o o o o ® o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Northern searobin White perch o o o o o o o o o o o o o ® o ® o o o ® ® o ® ® ® ® ® o ® ® ® Striped bass Black sea bass o o o ® ® o ® ® o o o o o ® ® o o o o o o o o ® ® o o o o o o Yellow perch o ® ® o o ® o o o o o o o o o Bluefish o ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® o o ® o o o ® ® ® ® ® Pinfish o o Scup o ® o ® o o o o ® Spotted seatrout o o o o o o o o o Weakfish o o ® ® o ® o o ® o ® o o o o o o o o o Spot o o ® ® ® ® o ® o o ® ® ® ® Northern kingfish o o o o Atlantic croaker o o o ® o o o o o ® ® ® Black drum o o o o o o o Red drum o o o o o o Mullets o o o o o o o o o o Tautog ® ® o o o o ® ® o o o o V o o o o Cunner o o o o ® o o American sand lance o ® o ® o ® o ® o o Gobies o o o o o o o o o ® o ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® Atlantic mackerel o o o o o o o Butterfish o ® o o o o o o o o o o o Summer flounder o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Wlndowpane flounder o ® ® o ® o ® o o o o Winter flounder ® ® ® ® o o o o Hogchoker o o o ® o o ® ® ® Relative abundance: • - Highly abundant ® - Abundant O - Common V - Rare Blank - Not present na - No data available 25 May Jun Jul Month Nov Dec 45 40 35 "30 5 25 e 20 I 5 15 10 Mid-Atlantic estuaries Tidal fresh zones 0.0 - 0.5 ppt Legend: Adults I Juveniles Larvae Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Figure 9. Mean number of ELMR species in Mid- Atlantic estuaries, by salinity zone, month, and life stage. 26 Southeast Region. The locations of the 20 selected ELMR Southeast estuaries are shown in Figure 10 (next page), and the common and scientific names of the 40 selected ELMR Southeast species are listed in Table 12 (p. 29). Results of the ELMR study in the Southeast region are summarized in Distribution and Abundance of Fishes and Invertebrates in Southeast Estuaries, ELMR Report No. 12 (Nelson et al. 1991). Life history tables for Southeast ELMR species have been completed in draft form, but life history sum- maries are still being developed. Estuaries of the South Carolina and Georgia coasts are characterized by low-elevation, marshy shore- lines with a dendritic pattern of tributary tidal streams. Estuaries of North Carolina and Florida are generally lagoons bounded by extensive barrier islands (NOAA 1985a). Tides are semidiurnal, and range from less than a meter in North Carolina and Florida to two meters in Georgia (NOAA 1990a). The 40 species selected in the Southeast region are generally of the warm-temperate fauna of the Caro- linian marine biogeographic province. Diadromous species include Atlantic sturgeon, American eel, alewife, blueback herring, American shad, and striped bass. The actual fauna of Florida's Biscayne Bay and Indian River includes many species from the tropical Caribbean marine province, including grunts (Haemulidae), snappers (Lutjanidae), grou- pers and sea basses (Serranidae). Therefore, the selected ELMR species list does not adequately rep- resent the actual south Florida estuarine fauna. Table 13 (p. 30) readily conveys the occurrence of the selected 40 ELMR species in each of the 20 Southeast estuaries. This table depicts the highest relative abundance of the adult or juvenile life stage of each species, in any month, in any salinity zone within each estuary. The spawning, egg, and larval life stage categories are not considered. This table also suggests the zoogeographic distribution of spe- cies among Southeast estuaries. For example, ale- wife does not occur south of the North Carolina estuaries. Many species common or abundant in Georgia and the Carolinas are rare or completely absent in Biscayne Bay, Florida. A few species, such as blue crab, bay anchovy, and striped mullet are ubiquitous, considered at least common in all 20 Southeast ELMR estuaries. To examine seasonal patterns of species presence/ absence in Southeast estuaries, the revised and up- dated ELMR data set for North Carolina estuaries was selected (RPI 1996). This data set utilizes five salinity zones: 0-0.5 ppt (tidal fresh), 0.5-5 ppt, 5-15 ppt, 15-25 ppt and >25 ppt. The revised ELMR data also consider the presence of eggs and spawning as a single life history stage (spawning-egg). Num- bers of species present, ranked as "rare" or greater, were counted by month and by salinity zone for the adult, juvenile, and larval life stages. In Figure 11 (p. 31) the numbers of species were averaged across estuaries and plotted by month for these life stages. In Figure 12 (p. 32), the annual maximum number of species is plotted by salinity zone for each life stage. Although these summaries are not statistical analy- ses, they do provide insights into the seasonal and geographical distribution of selected species in the estuaries: • The number of species appears to be lower in the tidal fresh (0-0.5 ppt) and seawater (>25 ppt) zones. However, this may be partially because the selected ELMR species are primarily estua- rine, not freshwater or marine resident species. • Juveniles and adults are the predominant life stages present in estuaries, followed by larvae and eggs-spawning. • The number of species present as juveniles and adults is generally highest from June through September, and lowest from December through February. • The number of species present as larvae is gen- erally highest in the 15-25 ppt zone, and peaks in April. Text continues on p. 33. 27 Estuaries and salinity zones present 1 . Albemarle Sound 2. Pamlico Sound 3. Pamlico/Pungo Rivers 4. Neuse River 5. Bogue Sound 6. New River 7. Cape Fear River 8. Winyah Bay 9. North/South Santee Rivers 10. Charleston Harbor 11. St. Helena Sound 12. Broad River 13. Savannah River 14. Ossabaw Sound 15. St. Catherines/Sapelo Sounds 16. Altamaha River 17. St. Andrew/St. Simons Sounds 18. St. Johns River 19. Indian River 20. Biscayne Bay Salinity zones: ItImI I ItImIsI ItImI I ItImI I ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImI ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI rTTMTsI ImIsI ImIsI Tidal fresh zone (0-0.5 ppt) Mixing zone (0.5-25 ppt) Seawater zone (>25 ppt) Salinity zone not present Figure 10. Location of 20 Southeast ELMR estuaries and associated salinity zones. 28 Table 12. ELMR Southeast species (n=41 ) Common Name Scientific Name Blue mussel Bay scallop American oyster Common rangia Hard clam Brown shrimp Pink shrimp White shrimp Grass shrimp Blue crab Atlantic sturgeon Ladyfish American eel Blueback herring Alewife American shad Atlantic menhaden Bay anchovy Sheepshead minnow Mummichog Silversides White perch Striped bass Bluefish Cobia Gray snapper Sheepshead Pinfish Spotted seatrout Weakfish Spot Southern kingtish Atlantic croaker Black drum Red drum Striped mullet Spanish mackerel Gulf flounder Summer flounder Southern flounder Mytilus edulis Argopecten irradians Crassostrea virginica Rangia cuneata Mercenaria species Penaeus aztecus Penaeus duorarum Penaeus setiferus Palaemonetes pugio Callinectes sapidus Acipenser oxyrhynchus El ops saurus Anguilla rostrata Alosa aestivalis Alosa pseudoharengus Alosa sapidissima Brevoortia tyrannus Anchoa mitchilli Cyprinodon variegatus Fundulus heteroclitus Menidia species Morone americana Morone saxatilis Pomatomus saltatrix Rachycentron canadum Lutjanus griseus Archosargus probatocephalus Lagodon rhomboides Cynoscion nebulosus Cynoscion regalis Leiostomus xanthurus Menticirrhus americanus Micropogonias undulatus Pogonias cromis Sciaenops ocellatus Mugil cephalus Scomberomorus maculatus Paralichthys albigutta Paralichthys dentatus Paralichthys lethostigma 29 Table 13. Occurrence* of 41 ELMR species in 20 Southeast estuaries 'Highest relative abundance of adults or juveniles in any salinity zone, in any month. Relative Abundance: • - Highly Abundant ® - Abundant 0 - Common v - Rare Blank - Not Present Species blue mussel V V V V V bay scallop ® ® • V V o American oyster o ® ® o • • • • o ® • • o ® ® o ® ® o o common rangia 1*1 ® ® ® o o o o o V V V o o o o o o V hard clam ® • • • ® o ® o ® o o o o o o o o brown shrimp o ® ® ® • ® ® ® ® • • ® o ® ® o ® ® o V pink shrimp o ® o ® ® ® ® o ® o V o o o o V o o ® • white shrimp If) ® o o o o ® ® • • • • • • • ® • • o V grass shrimp o ® ® ® • • • • ® • ® ® ® ® • ® ® • ® o blue crab ® • • • • ® • • ® ® • • ® ® ® ® ® • ® • Atlantic sturgeon o o o o V o o V V o o o o o o o V ladyfish 0 o o o V V o 0 V o o o o o o o o o • o American eel ® • ® • o o ® ® o o 0 o ® ® ® ® ® ® ® o blueback herring • • • • V V ® o o o o o o o o o o o alewife • ® o ® o V V V American shad ® o o o V V o o ® o o V 0 o V ® o o Atlantic menhaden ® ® • ® ® ® ® ® ® o bay anchovy • • ® • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • sheepshead minnow V ® o ® ® ® ® o o 0 ® o ® ® ® ® ® o • o mummichog o • ® ® • • • ® ® ® • ® • • • • • ® V Atlantic silversides ® ® o ® • • ® ® ® o • • ® ® ® ® (?) • • ® white perch • o o o V ® o o striped bass ® o o o V V V 0 o o o ® o ® V o V o bluefish o ® o o ® o ® ® o 0 o 0 o o o o o o • V cobia o o o o V o o o ® o o o o o o gray snapper V o V V V V V V o o V V V V V V V o • • sheepshead V ® V o ® ® ® o o o o 0 o o o o o ® • V pinfish o ® ® ® • • • • o o ® o o 0 o o o ® • • spotted seatrout ® ® o 0 ® ® ® o o o ® ® • • • • • o • o weakfish o ® ® o ® ® ® o • ® o ® ® ® ® ® ® ® o V spot • • • • • • • • • • ® ® • • • • • ® • o southern kingflsh o o o o ® ® o ® ® ® ® ® o o V Atlantic croaker ® • • • • • • • • • • • ® • • • • ® o V black drum V o o o V V V o V o o o o o o o ® ® ® • V red drum V o o o ® V o ® V o o o o ® ® • • • V striped mullet ® ® ® ® • • • • ® ® ® ® • • • • • • • o Spanish mackerel o o o o ® ® o o V o o o o o o o o o V o gulf flounder o o o V V V o V V V V V V o • o summer flounder o ® o o ® o o ® o o o o ® ® ® ® ® o o southern flounder ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® o o ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® V 30 Legend: Adults Juveniles Larvae 35 S 30 | 25 E20 E 5 10 North Carolina estuaries >25 ppt zones Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 40 North Carolina estuaries 15-25 ppt zones May Jun Jul Month Nov Dec 40 35 830 I & | 25 I20 E g 2 North Carolina estuaries 5 - 1 5 ppt zones Figure 11. Mean number of ELMR species in North Carolina estuaries, by salinity zone, month, and life stage. 31 40 North Carolina estuaries 0.5 - 5 ppt zones Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month 40 North Carolina estuaries 0.0 - 0.5 ppt zones r L Legend: Adults Juveniles Larvae Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Month Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Figure 11, continued. Mean number of ELMR species in North Carolina estuaries. North Carolina estuaries Legend: Adults Juveniles 0-0 5 ppt 0S-5ppt 5-15 ppt 15-25 ppt Salinity Zone. Lite Stage >25 ppt Figure 12. Mean annual maximum number of ELMR species in North Carolina estuaries. 32 Gulf of Mexico Region. The location of the 31 selected ELMR Gulf of Mexico estuaries are shown in Figure 13 (next page), and the common and scientific names of the 44 selected ELMR Gulf of Mexico species are listed in Table 14 (p. 35). Results of the ELMR study in the Gulf of Mexico region are summarized in Distribution and Abundance of Fishes and Invertebrates in Gulf of Mexico Estuaries, Volume 1: Data Summaries, ELMR Report No. 10 (Nelson et al. 1992). These results were also previously pub- lished in three separate reports for the Western Gulf of Mexico (Texas) (Monaco et al. 1989); Eastern Gulf of Mexico (Florida, Alabama) (Williams et al. 1990); and Central Gulf of Mexico (Louisiana, Mississippi) (Czapla et al. 1991). Life history summaries and tables for the species in this region were published in Volume II: Species Life History Summaries (Pattillo etal. 1997). Estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico were formed on a vast coastal plain of sedimentary deposits. In Loui- siana, the Mississippi River has transported enor- mous quantities of sediment to coastal waters, build- ing up the delta and alluvial plain. Barrier islands and lagoons are common along the Texas coast. Tidal range is small throughout the region, gener- ally less than a meter (NOAA 1990a). Hurricanes may occasionally impact Gulf estuaries with storm surges and episodic freshwater inflow. The 44 species selected are generally of the warm- temperate fauna of the Gulf of Mexico portion of the Carolinian marine biogeographic province. The actual fauna of the south Florida estuaries, Florida Bay and Ten Thousand Islands, includes many spe- cies from the tropical Caribbean marine province. Therefore, the selected ELMR species list does not adequately represent the actual south Florida es- tuarine fauna. Table 15 (p. 36) readily conveys the occurrence of the selected 44 ELMR species in each of the 31 Gulf of Mexico estuaries. This table depicts the highest relative abundance of the adult or juvenile life stage of each species, in any month, in any salinity zone within each estuary. The spawning, egg, and larval life stage categories are not considered. This table also suggests the zoogeographic distribution of spe- cies among Gulf of Mexico estuaries. For example, the Florida stone crab is found from Florida Bay to Apalachicola Bay, whereas the closely related Gulf stone crab occurs from Pensacola Bay westward. Some species occur in the higher-salinity estuarine waters of Florida and Texas, but are absent from the low-salinity areas of Louisiana, such as bay scallop, snook, code goby, and gulf flounder. A few euryha- line species, such as blue crab, bay anchovy, and hardhead catfish are ubiquitous, considered at least common in all 31 Gulf of Mexico ELMR estuaries. Alabama shad, an anadromous species closely re- lated to the American shad, is now rare or extir- pated through much of its former range (Mettee et al. 1996). It is therefore being considered as a candidate species for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act (NMFS 1997). To examine seasonal patterns of species presence/ absence in Gulf of Mexico estuaries, the revised and updated ELMR data sets (NOAA 1997a) for Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas were selected and merged. The revised Gulf of Mexico ELMR data set utilizes five salinity zones: 0-0.5 ppt (tidal fresh), 0.5-5 ppt, 5-15 ppt, 15-25 ppt, and >25 ppt. The revised ELMR data consider the presence of eggs and spawning as distinct life stages, just as in the original three-zone ELMR data (Nelson et al. 1992). Numbers of species present, ranked as "rare" or greater, were counted by month and by salinity zone for the adult, juvenile, and larval life stages. In Figure 14 (p. 38), the numbers of species were aver- aged across estuaries and plotted by month for the adult, juvenile, and larval life stages. In Figure 15 (p. 39), the mean annual maximum number of spe- cies is plotted by salinity zone for the adult, juve- nile, larval, spawning, and egg life stages. • The number of species appears to be lower in the tidal fresh (0-0.5 ppt) and seawater (>25 ppt) zones. However, this may have been partially because the selected ELMR species are prima- rily estuarine, not freshwater or marine resi- dent species. • Juveniles and adults are the predominant life stages present in estuaries, followed by larvae, eggs, and spawning. • The number of species present as juveniles and adults is generally highest from March through October, and lowest from December through February. However, this seasonal variation is much less dramatic than in the North Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic regions. • The number of species present as larvae is gen- erally highest in the 15-25 ppt zone. This num- ber peaks in April in the 15-25 ppt zone, but peaks in September in the >25 ppt zone. Text continues on p. 40. 33 MS AL TX s^M**- LA 23 22 11 13 j ' 12 1° 9 ^ 17 8 tL Estuaries and salinity zones present: Central Gulf of Mexico 14. Mississippi Sound 15. Lake Borgne 16. Lake Pontchartrain 17. Breton/Chandeleur Sound 18. Mississippi River 1 9. Barataria Bay 20. Terrebonne/Timbalier Bay 21 . Atchafalaya/Vermilion Bay 22. Calcasieu Lake ItImIsI ItImI I I Im| I [t[m[sJ ItImI I ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImI I ItImI I LTJML Western Gulf of Mexico 23. Sabine Lake 24. Galveston Bay 25. Brazos River 26. Matagorda Bay 27. San Antonio Bay 28. Aransas Bay 29. Corpus Christi Bay llMsJ 30. Laguna Madre Its] 31 . Baffin Bay LLisJ Ms] Hs] Salinity zones: Tidal fresh zone (0-0.5 ppt) Mixing zone (0.5-25 ppt) Seawater zone (>25 ppt) Salinity zone not present Eastern Gulf of Mexico 1 . Florida Bay 2. Ten Thousand Islands 3. Charlotte Harbor 4. Caloosahatchee River 5. Tampa Bay 6. Suwannee River 7. Apalachee Bay 8. Apalachicola Bay 9. St. Andrew Bay 10. Choctawhatchee Bay 1 1 . Pensacola Bay 12. PerdidoBay 13. Mobile Bay Lx[m[s] ItImIsI |j[mTs] ItImI I ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI LlMsJ ItImIsI ItImIsI Figure 13. Location of 31 Gulf of Mexico ELMR estuaries and associated salinity zones. 34 Table 14. ELMR Gulf of Mexico species (n=44). Common Name Scientific Name Bay scallop American oyster Common rangia Hard clam Bay squid Brown shrimp Pink shrimp White shrimp Grass shrimp Spiny lobster Blue crab Gulf stone crab Florida stone crab Bull shark Tarpon Alabama shad Gulf menhaden Yellowfin menhaden Gizzard shad Bay anchovy Hardhead catfish Sheepshead minnow Gulf killifish Silversides Snook Bluefish Blue runner Crevalle jack Florida pompano Gray snapper Sheepshead Pinfish Silver perch Sand seatrout Spotted seatrout Spot Atlantic croaker Black drum Red drum Striped mullet Code goby Spanish mackerel Gulf flounder Southern flounder Argopecten irradians Crassostrea virginica Rangia cuneata Mercenaria species Lolliguncula brevis Penaeus aztecus Penaeus duorarum Penaeus setiferus Palaemonetes pugio Panulirus argus Callinectes sapidus Menippe adina Menippe mercenaria Carcharhinus leucas Megalops atlanticus Alosa alabamae Brevoortia patronus Brevoortia smith i Dorosoma cepedianum Anchoa mitchilli Arius felis Cyprinodon variegatus Fundulus grandis Menidia species Centropomus undecimalis Pomatomus saltatrix Caranx crysos Caranx hippos Trachinotus carolinus Lutjanus griseus Archosargus probatocephalus Lagodon rhomboides Bairdiella chrysoura Cynoscion arenarius Cynoscion nebulosus Leiostomus xanthurus Micropogonias undulatus Pogonias cromis Sciaenops ocellatus Mugil cephalus Gobiosoma robustum Scomberomorus maculatus Paralichthys albigutta Paralichthys lethostigma 35 ~y o ® o o ® ® o o ® ® o ® ® o o o ® o ® eg o> c co o o o o o o o o ~y o o o o o ® o o o o o o ® ® o o ~y o o o o o o ® o o o o ® ® o o ® o o ~y ~y "D '3 cr >N CD ® ® ® o ® ® ® ® ® ~y ~y ~y ~y o ® o o o o o -y ~y ~y o ® ~y o o o o ® ® ® ® ® ® Q. £ £ 0> ~y ® ® ® ® o o o ® ® o ~y a. 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Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month Figure 14. Mean number of ELMR species in Gulf of Mexico estuaries, by salinity zone, month, and life stage. 38 Legend: Adults Juveniles Larvae 35 30 8 25 \ s Qj 20 1 15 10 Jan Feb Mar Apr Gulf of Mexico estuaries 0.0 - 0.5 ppt zones May Jun Jul Month Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec J i I I' ! Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep B Oct IL Nov Dec Month Figure 14, continued. Mean number of ELMR species in Gulf of Mexico estuaries. 0-0.5 ppt 0.5-5 ppt 5-15 ppt 15-25 ppt Salinity Zone, Life Stage >25 ppt Figure 15. Mean annual maximum number of ELMR species in Gulf of Mexico estuaries. 39 West Coast Region. The location of the 32 selected ELMR West Coast estuaries are shown in Figure 16, and the common and scientific names of the 47 selected ELMR West Coast species are listed in Table 16 (p. 42). The initial pilot study for NOAA's ELMR program was completed for several West Coast estuaries in 1986 (Monaco 1986). Results for the entire West Coast region are summarized in Distribution and Abundance of Fishes and Invertebrates in West Const Estuaries, Volume 1: Data Summaries, ELMR Report No. 10 (Monaco et al. 1990). Life history summaries and tables for the species in this region were published in Volume II: Species Life History Summaries (Emmett et al. 1991). Along the West Coast of the continental U.S., the Coast Range mountains have restricted the extent of low-elevation coastal plain. The San Francisco Bay and Puget Sound estuarine systems were formed when continental valleys sank during orogenic (mountain-building) tectonic activity (NOAA 1990b). Puget Sound was further affected by glacial action during the Pliestocene ice ages. Circulation in the large systems (e.g., Puget Sound, San Fran- cisco Bay, Santa Monica Bay) is dominated by tides, while circulation in riverine systems (e.g., Colum- bia River, Eel River) is dominated by freshwater inflow. The 47 species selected for the West Coast are rep- resentative of both the cold-temperate fauna of the Oregonian marine biogeographic province, and the warm-temperate Californian province. Although two separate species lists could have been pre- pared, it was deemed most feasible to consider the entire U.S. West Coast as a single region. It should be noted that the list includes several introduced species. The Pacific oyster and Manila clam were introduced to the U.S. from Japan in the early 1900s. Softshell clam, American shad, and striped bass were introduced from the U.S. East Coast. Table 17 (p. 43) readily conveys the occurrence of the selected 47 ELMR species in each of the 32 West Coast estuaries. This table depicts the highest rela- tive abundance of the adult or juvenile life stage of each species, in any month, in any salinity zone within each estuary. The spawning, egg, and larval life stage categories are not considered. This table also suggests the zoogeographic distribution of spe- cies among West Coast estuaries, and the contrast between the Oregonian and Californian provinces are evident. For example, deepbody anchovy, slough anchovy, kelp bass, and barred sand bass are not scored as present north of Pt. Concepcion. The anadromous sturgeon and salmonid species gener- ally' occur from San Francisco Bay northward. Sev- eral of the introduced species, such as American shad and striped bass, are now well established and considered abundant in some West Coast estuaries. In contrast, several native stocks of anadromous salmonids have been listed, or are under consider- ation for listing, under the federal Endangered Spe- cies Act (NMFS 1995). Estuarine habitats are essen- tial to these stocks as a rearing area for juveniles migrating seaward, and as a migration corridor for adults returning to spawn in fresh water (Emmett and Schiewe 1997). Therefore, these estuarine habi- tats must be conserved in order to achieve recovery of the threatened and endangered runs of salmon and steelhead. To examine seasonal patterns of species presence/ absence in West Coast estuaries, the numbers of species present, ranked as "rare" or greater, were counted by month and by salinity zone for the adult, juvenile, larval, spawning, and egg life stages. The original ELMR West Coast data set was used with no revisions (Monaco et al. 1990). In Figure 17 (p. 45), the numbers of species were averaged across estuaries and plotted by month for these life stages. • The number of species appears to be lowest in the tidal fresh zone. However, this may have been partially due to the fact that the selected West Coast ELMR species are primarily estua- rine and marine, not freshwater. Many of the West Coast ELMR species found in fresh water are anadromous salmonids that use the tidal fresh zone as a migration corridor to and from freshwater spawning and rearing areas. • Juveniles and adults are the predominant life stages present in estuaries, followed by larvae, eggs and spawning. • The number of species present as juveniles and adults peaks in June, and is lowest from Decem- ber through March. • The number of species present as larvae in the mixing and seawater zones is highest in May and June. Text continues on p. 45. 40 Estuaries and salinity zones present 1. Puget Sound 2. Hood Canal 3. Skagit Bay 4. Grays Harbor 5. Willapa Bay 6. Columbia River 7. Nehalem Bay 8. Tillamook Bay 9. Netarts Bay 10. Siletz River 1 1 . Yaquina Bay 12. Alsea River 13. Siuslaw River 14. Umpqua River 1 5. Coos Bay 16. Rogue River 17. Klamath River 18. Humboldt Bay 19. Eel River 20. Tomales Bay 21. Central San Francisco Bay* 22. South San Francisco Bay 23. Elkhorn Slough 24. Morro Bay 25. Santa Monica Bay 26. San Pedro Bay 27. Alamitos Bay 28. Anaheim Bay 29. Newport Bay 30. Mission Bay 31 . San Diego Bay 32. Tijuana Estuary Central San Francisco Bay includes Suisun and San Pablo Bays ItImIsI [tTmTsI ItImIsI ItImIsI iTlMlSl iTlMlsl LlLmIsJ It[m[s] ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI ItImIsI FtImTsI [tTmTsI [tTmTsI [tTmTsI FF[mTs1 FFImTs] ItImIsI [7[mTs1 [T[m[s] 1 MS 1 1 Isl 1 1 Isl 1 1 Isl 1 1 Isl LLLsJ Isl I I Isl 1 1 Isl 1 1 Isl 1 1 Isl WA 023 24^ CA Salinity zones: J_ Tidal fresh zone (0-0.5 ppt) M Mixing zone (0.5-25 ppt) ^ Seawater zone (>25 ppt) J Salinity zone not present Figure 16. Location of 32 West Coast estuaries and associated salinity zones. 41 Table 16. ELMR West Coast species (n=47). Common name Scientific name blue mussel Pacific oyster horseneck gaper Pacific gaper California jackknife clam Pacific littleneck clam Manila clam softshell geoduck bay shrimp Dungeness crab leopard shark green sturgeon white sturgeon American shad Pacific herring deepbody anchovy slough anchovy northern anchovy cutthroat trout pink salmon chum salmon coho salmon steelhead (3 races) sockeye salmon Chinook salmon (5 races) surf smelt longfin smelt eulachon Pacific tomcod topsmelt jacksmelt threespine stickleback striped bass kelp bass barred sand bass white croaker white seabass shiner perch Pacific sand lance arrow goby lingcod Pacific staghorn sculpin California halibut diamond turbot English sole starry flounder Mytilis edulis Crassostrea gigas Tresus capax Tresus nuttallii Tagelus californianus Protothaca staminea Venerupis japonica Mya arenaria Panopea abrupta Crangon franciscorum Cancer magister Triakis semifasciata Acipenser medirostris Acipenser transmontanus Alosa sapidissima Clupea pallasi Anchoa compressa Anchoa delicatissima Engraulis mordax Oncorhynchus clarki Oncorhynchus gorbuscha Oncorhynchus keta Oncorhynchus kisutch Oncorhynchus mykiss Oncorhynchus nerka Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Hypomesus pretiosus Spirinchus thaleichthys Thaleichthys pacificus Microgadus proximus Atherinops af finis Atherinopsis californiensis Gasterosteus aculeatus Morone saxatilis Paralabrax clathratus Paralabrax nebulifer Genyonemus lineatus Airactoscion nobilis Cymatogaster aggregata Ammodytes hexapterus Clevelandia ios Ophiodon elongatus Leptocottus a r mat us Paralichthys californicus Hypsopsetta guttulata Pleuronectes vetulus Plat ich thy s stellatus 42 :**■ ^ o 7 § .^ 3>; ^; ;v &■ CS1 v^ v*-; ;<£ Si C*XV kO &'■ :<£ ^ v-^" sV W o ■> ill ® -y c CD 10 o z J£ c to CD CO DC -y c o E E o O 6 CO ■o c < ® C CO ■o c < >. 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"to I TD to tD JZ o o 55 E E Z1 C/3 to tD JZ a> 55 c o E to to o JZ o (J 15 u. c o E to to J£ o o c 'jz o re B _i c o E a CO O o c 'jz o 43 o % y; V k« o*1 ^ vtf .-£• & »; r%; ® ® ® ® ® ® -?■ -y T ® O ® o >■ -?■ -? > "-?■ o -?- ® -?■ -?• "> ® o ® ® ® ® ® ® o o -?• ~7- ~p- ® ® o -?■ ® ~7- -?■ ® ~7- "■?■ -?■ "-?- ~?- -?- o -7» o ® o o o ® ® ® ® ® o o ® o ® -?■ -?■ ® T ® ® ® ® o o o ® ® ® o ® ® ® o ® ® ® -?- ® ® -?■ o T ~1- \ -7- ~f* -p- -y ~p- ® ® ~> ® ® ® ® -? o "-?- o ® ® o -?- -?* -y ~y "T o -?■ T ~7 T ~r ® ® ® O ® ~r T ~-r o o ® o o o ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® o ® ® ® ® ® o ~y ~y T 7 o o T ~p- ~f ~y o o -7- o o -?- ® ® ~p- ® ® ~f -?■ ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® o -?■ ® ® ® ® ® o o ~p- -?- o ® ® ® ® o T ~f ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® o ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® 44 Legend: Adults I Juveniles Larvae 25 20 DC §15 10 West Coast estuaries Seawater zones >25 ppt J 25 20 DC 3 15 10 Jan Feb Mar Apr West Coast estuaries Mixing zones 0.5- 15 ppt May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month 0 + 25 20 DC g is UJ "o I I = 10 I Jan Feb Mar Apr West Coast estuaries Tidal Fresh zones 0.0 - 0.5 ppt May Jun Jul Month Aug Sep Nov Dec Oct Nov Dec Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Month Figure 17. Mean number of ELMR species in West Coast estuaries, by salinity zone, month, and life stage. 45 Data Content and Quality Data reliability. An important aspect of the ELMR program, especially since it is based primarily on data sets, published literature, and consultations, is to de- termine the quality of available data. The quality of available information varied between species, life stage, and estuary, due to differences in gear selectiv- ity, difficulty in identifying larvae, difficulty in sam- pling various habitats, and the extent of sampling and analysis in particular studies. As a result, spatial and temporal resolution was greater in well studied estu- aries and for well studied species. Similarly, the early life history stages and spawning activity are often not as well documented as the juvenile and adult stages. Except for a few species, very little data has been generated on specific habitat affinities. This is par- ticularly true for the forage and/or noncommercial fishes and invertebrates. In addition, life history data are lacking or incomplete even for some of the com- mercially important and pelagic species. Given this situation, an objective of the ELMR program was to describe the quality of available data. Therefore, a deliberate effort was made to assess the data reliabil- ity so that the data base could be used appropriately. Data reliability was classified using the following categories: • Highly certain — considerable sampling data avail- able. Distribution, behavior, and preferred habi- tats well documented within an estuary. • Moderately certain — some sampling data avail- able for an estuary. Distribution, preferred habi- tat, and behavior well documented in similar estuaries. • Reasonable inference — little or no sampling data available. Information on distributions, ecology, and preferred habitats documented in similar es- tuaries. Estimates of the data reliability for each species and estuary are presented in Data Reliability tables within each regional report. Each regional summary report also provides lists of personal communications and primary references used so that readers can easily obtain additional information. An opportunity exists to further refine the data presented based upon addi- tional reviews or new research findings. Variability in space and time. Species distribution data were organized according to the salinity zone boundaries developed for each estuary in the NEI Data Atlas-Vol. I and supplement (NOAA 1985a). However, these zones can be highly variable due to the many interactive factors that affect salinity, such as freshwater inflow, wind and tides. To compile information on species distribution according to these zones, it is assumed that if a particular salinity zone expands or contracts, the distribution of a mobile species in that zone will correspond to the shift. For example, if increased freshwater inflow enlarges the tidal fresh zone, the distribution of a species confined to that zone increases to include the new area. If a species tolerates a wide range of salinity, a shift may or may not occur. The assignment of a species in a salinity zone was ultimately determined by where the species has been regularly observed or captured. Species temporal distributions are often dependent on annual climatic conditions and water currents. Monthly distribution patterns were derived based on the consistent presence of a life stage within a particu- lar month. If a species was only present during un- usual events (e.g., drought), it was not included in the description of that species' distribution. However, if a species regularly occurs, even during a restricted time period, it was considered to be present for the specific month(s). Greater temporal resolution, such as on a biweekly rather than on a monthly basis, was not feasible. Base ELMR Strengths and Weaknesses It is recognized that the ELMR methodology has both strengths and weaknesses as a means to characterize living marine resources. Therefore, the ELMR frame- work and data base have been modified to take advan- tage of the strengths, and to improve upon some of the recognized weaknesses. The strengths of the ELMR methodology can be sum- marized as: • Spatial and temporal framework enables synthe- sis of information from disparate literature, data sets, and expert knowledge. • Standardized species lists, estuary lists, and data categories result in a consistent and versatile data base with multiple applications. • The spatial and temporal framework allows si- multaneous overview of many species and estu- aries, enabling perception of emergent properties and patterns of variation. The weaknesses of the ELMR methodology can be summarized as: • Relative abundance rankings cannot be trans- lated to actual densities or abundances of organ- isms. 46 Relative abundance rankings may not be compa- rable between estuaries and regions. Relative abundance rankings are intended to char- acterize a "typical" year; therefore, Lnterannual and real-time variations are not encompassed. Revising and Updating the ELMR Data Base Although the national ELMR data base was com- pleted in 1994, regional components have been peri- odically updated to reflect temporal trends in species abundance, and to take advantage of new or im- proved resource surveys. These updates are based on the analysis of new fishery-independent data sets, and other specialized data sources. Updates within a particular state or region have been initiated in re- sponse to specific needs, such as the development of Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for HazMat response (oil spill) planning for the states of North Carolina, Georgia and Massachusetts (RPI 1996, 1997). Updates in the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast regions have been initiated in response to the need to designate Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) under the re- vised Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act (NOAA/GMFMC 1998). Table 1 (p. 2) summarizes the status of these updates on a re- gional basis. The improved data base is also being incorporated into NOAA's National Coastal Assess- ment and Data Synthesis Framework (C A&DS), which will integrate national data sets for 138 estuaries within a spatial framework with analytical capabilities (Or- lando 1999). To further refine the spatial resolution of the ELMR framework, a multivariate methodology (Bulger et al. 1993) was applied to derive five bio-salinity zones in four "salinity seasons" for Gulf of Mexico and South- east estuaries (Christensen et al. 1997). The refined salinity zone spatial framework is an extension of the salinity characterization studies completed for Gulf of Mexico and Southeast estuaries (Orlando et al. 1993, Orlando et al. 1994). Precipitation, flow gage data, and monthly salinity averages were evaluated to de- termine which months would be used to represent the high, low, and transitional salinity periods. A contour modelling procedure was applied to the data to de- velop the seasonal salinity zones for each estuary. Figure 19 depicts the five bio-salinity zones in four seasons derived for Galveston Bay, Texas (Clark et al. 1999). ELMR data for the adult and juvenile life stages of species have been revised based on recent resource surveys using trawl and other fishery-indpendent monitoring gear. The revised ELMR data were then linked with the seasonal estuarine bio-salinity zones for the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast regions, and incorporated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) to enable spatial organization of the data and to generate maps. The general procedure for these up- dates is depicted in Figure 18, and can be summarized as: (1) Map catch data using GIS. (2) Model catch data in seasonal salinity zones based on species salinity range. (3) Peer review of data and maps. A standard protocol has been developed to derive ELMR relative abundance rankings from fishery-in- dependent monitoring (FIM) data (Christensen and Monaco 1997). Data preparation. The acquired FIM data are sorted by time (year/month), and location. All associated hydrological data are joined with the biological data sets using a relational data base managment system to Plot species catch within estuary Model seasonal salinity zones Peer-review species maps and data Final ELMR database and map products Figure 18. Schematic methodology for revising and updating ELMR database. Relative abundance values are derived from fisheries-independent data, seasonal salinity zones are derived from time-series salinity data, and ELMR data and digital geographies are merged to generate map products which are then peer-reviewed. 47 ensure that spatial and temporal integrity are main- tained. If feasible, the associated salinity data are categorized into one of the five new seasonal salinity zones: Salinity zone I: 0 - 0.5 ppt. Salinity zone II: 0.5 - 5 ppt. Salinity zone III: 5-15 ppt. Salinity zone IV: 15 - 25 ppt. Salinity zone V: > 25 ppt. If both surface and bottom salinities are recorded in the FIM data, the following guidelines for salinity data selection are used to define salinity associations: (1) Use bottom salinity if a trawl is the sampling method and water depths exceed 3 m; otherwise, use depth-averaged salinity. (2) Use depth-averaged salinity for gill net data if fished at depths not exceeding 50% of the nets height; otherwise, use bottom salinity. For most other passive gear types (e.g., fyke, hoop, and pound nets), use bottom salinity. (3) Use bottom salinity for bag and beach seines. (4) If bottom salinity data are not available, use surface salinity. Data transformation. Survey catch data for each species are classified by species guild (Table 4, p. 8), and sampling gear susceptibility. When multiple sampling gear types are specified in the survey metadata, discrete data sets are created for each sam- pling strategy. If length-frequency counts are re- corded in the data, this information is used to isolate juvenile catch from adults. These data are then sepa- rated into discrete gear type/life stage data sets (e.g., trawl/juvenile). In the absence of length-at-capture information, gear type is used to help identify which life stages should be compared based on gear suscep- tibility. An average catch per unit effort (CPUE) for each estuary/species/month/salinity zone is calculated. The CPUEs are then ordered by percentile to identify natural statistical breaks. These percentile breaks serve to parse the catch data into the five ELMR relative abundance rankings: (1) If CPUE present." 0, then relative abundance = "not (2) If 1 < CPUE < 10th percentile, then relative abun- dance = "rare." (3) If 10th percentile < CPUE < 50th percentile, then relative abundance = "common." (4) If 50th percentile < CPUE < 90th percentile, then relative abundance = "abundant." (5) If CPUE > 90th percentile, then relative abundance = "highly abundant." ELMR data have been quantitatively updated for Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida in the Gulf of Mexico region; North Carolina, South Caro- lina, Georgia in the Southeast region; and Massachu- setts in the Mid-Atlantic and North Atlantic regions. As examples, the application of this methodology to ELMR data for the States of Texas and Massachusetts are described here. Gulf of Mexico: Texas case example. In 1997, the Gulf Wide Information System (GW1S) project was initi- ated by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS), in cooperation with NOAA, the Gulf of Mexico states (FL, AL, MS, LA, TX) and others (Christensen and Monaco 1998). The ob- jective of the GWIS project is to develop an authorita- tive data base, as mandated by the Oil Spill Pollution Act of 1990, for oil spill contingency planning in the Gulf of Mexico region (NOAA 1997a). NOAA's role and contribution to GWIS included: (1 ) Updating and digitally integrating NOAA's ELMR data into the GWIS data base. (2) Updating the data for selected coastal and marine fishes in the Gulf of Mexico. To complete NOAA's contribution to the GWIS project for Texas estuarine waters, the ELMR Program ac- quired fishery-independent monitoring (FIM) data sets from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). Estuarine fishery-independent sampling methods include trawl, bag seine, beach seine, and gill net. These data sets were used to revise and update the existing Texas ELMR data to fit the new spatial framework, according to the general procedure de- scribed above. Specific elements of this procedure included: (1) Developing a seasonal, five-salinity-zone spatial framework for Texas estuaries. Figure 19 depicts the salinity zones for Galveston Bay during the low, in- creasing, high, and decreasing salinity seasons. (2) Grouping fisheries-independent data according to the revised salinity zones for all Texas estuarine wa- ters. 48 Galveston Bay, Texas Decreasing salinity time period (November-March) Low salinity time period (April-June) 7^^%^ i r ^£2- >l j' £ ■ ' \^ Galv.shp Galv.shp 0-0.5 0.5-5 5-15 Ml 15-25 Galv.shp Galv.shp 0-05 0.5-5 5-15 Mi 15"25 High salinity time period (August-October) Increasing salinity time period (July) Seasonal estuarine salinity zones j 0-0.5 ppt | 0.5-5 ppt 5 -15 ppt 15 -25 ppt >25 ppt Figure 19. Revised seasonal estuarine salinity zones for Galveston Bay, Texas. 49 Galveston Bay, Texas Gray snapper, adults, high salinity season (Aug-Oct) Spanish mackerel, juveniles, increasing salinity season (Jul) Hgn Sanity Period Red drum, juveniles, low salinity season (Apr-Jun) Brown shrimp, juveniles, high salinity season (Aug-Oct) Relative abundance within estuarine salinity zones Not Present Rare Common Abundant Highly Abundant Figure 20. Representative maps of relative abundance of gray snapper, Spanish mackerel, red drum, and brown shrimp, by seasonal salinity zone, in Galveston Bay, Texas. 50 (3) Classifying species into groups based on species guild, susceptibility to each sampling gear, and life history stage. The six species guilds include shrimps and squids, sessile invertebrates, large decapod crus- taceans, shallow water fishes, demersal fishes, and pelagic fishes. The four sampling gear types include bag seine, trawl, beach seine, and gill net. The two life history stages considered for each species include juvenile and adult. The new classifications are treated as separate data sets. For example, it is determined that adult striped mullet are most likely to be sampled by gill net, while juveniles are most susceptible to bag seine. (4) Relative abundance values are determined within the guild-specific data sets based on the numbers of each species. Species not collected are scored as "not present"; those up to the 10th percentile are scored as "rare"; from the 10th to the 50th percentile as "com- mon"; from the 50th to the 90th percentile as "abun- dant"; and from the 90th to the 100th as "highly abun- dant". Monthly relative abundance is calculated for individual species within each guild. (5) Monthly relative abundance is plotted for each species in each of the five estuarine salinity zones to provide a first-order estimate of relative abundance within the spatial framework. (6) The fishery-independent sampling data are com- pared with the ELMR relative abundance estimates in each salinity zone for all months. ELMR relative abundance values are adjusted if the fishery-indepen- dent data are substantially different, i.e., two or more levels of relative abundance. (7) Fishery-independent sampling data and ELMR relative abundance values are mapped together by estuarine salinity zone and season using Arclnfo® and/or ArcView® GIS. (8) ELMR program staff meet with regional fisheries experts for peer review of draft maps. (9) Revisions are finalized based on the experts' re- views. Figure 20 depicts the relative abundance of pinfish in Galveston Bay for the low salinity period. Update of Massachusetts ELMR data. In 1997, NOAA initiated an effort to revise and update Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the coastal zone of Massachusetts, and decided to use ELMR data to characterize the distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in estuaries and coastal waters. However, the existing ELMR data for Massachusetts (Mid-Atlantic and North Atlantic regions) had been compiled six years earlier, and did not reflect recent trends. Therefore, the existing ELMR data were re- vised and updated using a three-step procedure: (1) Developing a seasonal salinity zonation scheme based on estuarine salinity data. (2) Revising ELMR information using recent Massa- chusetts Coastal Trawl Survey data. (3) Reviewing species maps with local experts. The ELMR program derived seasonal salinity zones for Massachusetts from analysis of an estuarine salin- ity data set provided by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MDMF). This data set consisted primarily of surface salinity values taken for MDMF's shellfish water quality monitoring program. Tribu- tary flow gage and precipitation data were acquired to identify representative years. Precipitation, flow data, and monthly salinity averages were evaluated to de- termine which months would be used to represent the high, low, and transitional salinity periods. A contour modelling procedure was applied to the data, with these results: (1) Three salinity zones were delineated: • Tidal Fresh, 0 to 0.5 ppt. • Mixing, 0.5 to 25 ppt. • Seawater, greater than 25 ppt. (The data did not warrant a five-zone salinity classifi- cation scheme, as was derived for estuarine waters of Louisiana and North Carolina.) (2) The analysis identified four "salinity seasons": • Low: March through May • Increasing: June • High: July through September • Decreasing: October through February (3) The results generally agreed with the original National Estuarine Inventory (NEI) salinity maps (NOAA 1985a). However, several tributaries with seasonal mixing zones were identified. (4) Most of the large coastal embayments (Massachu- setts Bay, Cape Cod Bay, Buzzards Bay, Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds) are entirely seawater. (5) The majority of mixing zone habitat is within Merrimack River, Plum Island Sound, Taunton River, and the tidal ponds of Martha's Vineyard. (6) The majority of tidal fresh habitat is within Merrimack River. 51 Massachusetts ELMR Data Winter Flounder Pleuronectes americanus Juveniles Low Salinity (Mar. - May) Merrimack River Relative Abundance | Highly Abundant Abundant Common Rare Not Present No Data Catch Percentile • >90% • 50-90% • 10-50% . <10% o None Caught Trawls normalized to 20 minute trawl Figure 21 . ELMR relative abundance and MDMF trawl survey data for juvenile winter flounder in Massachusetts. 52 To revise the ELMR data, Massachusetts Coastal Trawl Survey data were acquired through a cooperative agreement. A "quantile analysis" was applied to six recent consecutive years (September 1991 to May 1997) of the data. Survey locations were identified within the boundaries of ELMR estuaries (Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts Bay, Cape Cod Bay). Species were separated into juvenile (J) and adult (A) life stages based on length class. The analysis was applied only to the "demersal fishes" guild, susceptible to the trawl survey sampling gear. Total catch-per-unit-effort for individual species/life stages was summed for six years, but kept separate for May and September, and any catches of 0 were excluded from analysis. Catches for May and September were "stacked," separated into percentiles, and converted to ELMR relative abun- dance categories using the standard criteria as de- scribed on page 48. Based on this quantile analysis of 1991-1997 trawl survey catch, ELMR data were revised for several species (skates, scup, weakfish, spiny dogfish, silver hake, red hake) in Buzzards Bay, Cape Cod Bay, and / or Massachusetts Bay. The revised ELMR data and salinity zone boundaries were then merged with a 1 :24,000 shoreline boundary to generate seasonal spe- cies maps using Arclnfo® software. The seasonal species maps were carefully reviewed in a series of meetings with local and regional fisheries biologists. Final revision of the ELMR data was based on the comments of these experts. Figure 21 depicts the distribution of winter flounder adults in Massachu- setts estuarine waters, combining both ELMR and MDMF trawl survey data. In summary, the ELMR digital maps and associated data base are revised and updated in a four-step procedure: (1) Map the species catch distribution. (2) Model the species distribution throughout sea- sonal salinity zones. (3) Link the fishery-independent monitoring data with modeled data via GIS. (4) Peer-review the revised data and associated maps. ELMR Applications The methodology and data developed through the ELMR program have been applied to analytical stud- ies, and to specific problems in natural resource man- agement. A few of these applications are described below. An index to assess the sensitivity of Gulf of Mexico spiccies to changes in estuarine salinity regimes. This study developed an index of biological sensitivity to changes in freshwater inflow for adult and juvenile life stages of the 44 ELMR fish and macroinvertebrate species in 22 Gulf of Mexico estuaries (Christensen et al. 1997). The BioSalinity Index (BSI) provides an innovative approach to quantifying the estuary-spe- cific sensitivity of organisms to changes in estuarine salinity regimes, based upon knowledge of species' salinity habitat preferences, the availability of this preferred habitat, and the relative abundance and spatial and temporal distribution of species. It was found that a significant difference exists between adult and juvenile life stage sensitivity, with juveniles ex- hibiting a lower sensitivity to salinity changes than adults, and that a considerable disparity exists in species-specific sensitivities among Gulf estuaries. Likewise, when the full complement of 44 species- level BSIs are averaged, marked differences in assem- blage-wide sensitivity are evident across estuaries. The availability of preferred salinity habitat had a greater influence on the BSI for estuarine species than did their relative abundance and temporal distribu- tion. In 1995, participants in a Gulf of Mexico freshwa- ter inflow workshop applied the BSI to identify a subset of estuaries that appear more sensitive to changes in freshwater inflow, and are candidates for further study. Estuarine-catadromy: a life history strategy couplittg marine and estuarine environments via coastal in- lets. This investigation was undertaken to develop a better understanding of estuarine-catadromous spe- cies' larval utilization of estuaries and inlets along the U.S. East Coast from Buzzard Bay, MA to Biscayne Bay, FL (Bulger et al. 1995). Estuarine-catadromous species spend most of their adult stage in the marine environment and spawn there, and in their early life history stages migrate to, and reside in, estuarine environments. This group of species accounts for a large portion of the Gulf and East Coast fisheries harvest, and their larvae's migration through the in- lets is of paramount importance. ELMR data were used to characterize 12 larval species' utilizations of 29 estuaries and 59 inlets. A Theoretical Inlet Utiliza- tion (TIU) Index was developed as a series of maps to provide a biogeographic perspective. These species' larval abundance rankings were modeled against the physical characteristics of ocean inlets, via ordered stepwise logistic regression, to provide a better un- derstanding of the relationships driving these utiliza- tion patterns. The average concordance between lar- val relative abundance rankings and nine estuarine/ inlet physical variables was 82.6%. The models indi- cated that additional estuarine /inlet independent vari- ables, such as tidal plume characterizations (e.g., ex- 53 cursion, areal coverage, reflux), may improve the models. With further refinement and a better under- standing of the relationships driving larval utilization patterns, improvements in the inlet utilization assess- ments may be possible. These improvements would aid managers in assessing the potential impacts to estuarine-catadromous larvae from natural and an- thropogenic modifications of ocean inlets. The FLELMR spatial decision support system for coastal resources management. The Florida Estuarine Living Marine Resources (FLELMR) system is a spa- tial decision-support system being developed by the Florida Marine Reseach Institute (FMRI) (Rubec et al. 1997). FLELMR has been developed as a source of synthesized biological information needed for fisher- ies management and for assessing potential impacts from oil spills and other perturbations. The system contains information pertaining to the life histories, reproduction and habitat requirements of 91 species of marine fish and invertebrates found in Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Indian River Lagoon and Florida Bay. Text and numeric data are being added to an Oracle® data base. The system is being expanded to include more species, so that researchers can assess the biodiversity and biological integrity of coastal ecosys- tems. Habitat suitability index (HSI) models have been developed, and are used with the Arclnfo® geographic information system (GIS) to map the dis- tributions of species by life stage (Rubec et al. 1999). The FLELMR system will assist resource management decisions by enabling spatial queries with GIS capa- bilities. Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) mapping. En- vironmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an inte- gral component of coastal oil spill contingency plan- ning and assessment (Battista et al. 1996). The impor- tance of this response tool warrants the development of a more comprehensive, accurate and easily distrib- uted information system. The update of the ESI Atlas for coastal North Carolina provided an opportunity, as a pilot study, to augment current analog ESI maps and table with digital formats. The Arclnfo® GIS was used to integrate biogeographic data from the ELMR program and salinity data from the National Estuarine Inventory (NEI) with existing ESI data sources. Ulti- mately, digitally integrated data will be available for display, query and analysis via a custom ArcView® desktop GIS system. Final products from this effort include hard-copy maps, digital data bases, and digi- tal coverages that characterize the relative abundance and distribution of fish and invertebrate species in North Carolina estuaries (RPI 1996). A similar series of products have been completed for Georgia (RPI 1997) and Massachusetts (RPI 1999). Habitat Suitability Modeling (HSM). NOAA's Bio- geography Program is currently developing a GIS- based modeling and assessment capability to investi- gate potential changes in the spatial extent and pat- terns of selected fishery habitats as effected by alter- ations in estuarine habitat. The underlying modeling approach was introduced by the U.S. Fish and Wild- life Service's (USFWS) Habitat Evaluations Proce- dures Program, whereby models result in a numerical index of habitat suitability ranging from 0.0 - 1.0. Models are based on the assumption that a positive relationship exists between the index and a habitat's carrying capacity for a given species (Schamberger et al. 1982). Our models exhibit a significant departure from USFWS methods by incorporating a spatial com- ponent to produce a view of the relative suitability of locations in geographic space through time. The intent is to develop a simple spatial model using GIS technology that offers estuarine resource managers a habitat assessment capability that can be applied to a wide range of estuarine species. Habitat Suitability Index models are based upon habi- tat suitability as determined by the combination of environmental variables (i.e., salinity (ppt), water tem- perature (°C), dissolved oxygen content (mg/1), sub- strate type, bathymetry (m), and the presence or ab- sence of submerged aquatic vegetation and emergent wetland macrophytes) as they vary in both time and space. The use of GIS technology provides the tools necessary to produce a "seascape" view of the relative suitability of locations in geographic space through time. Two independent methods are currently used to determine suitability across the range of each param- eter modeled: (1) Qualitative - species suitability index values (Sis) are generated through an extensive data and literature search for documented tolerances to, and affinities for, each environmental and biologi- cal gradient; and (2) Quantitative - Stepwise multiple regression prediction models are developed using empirical data from fisheries-independent data. The former approach is designed to investigate the feasi- bility of developing reasonably accurate habitat suit- ability models in locations lacking data to support a more rigorous statistical model, while the latter is designed to address the concept of transferability of models across geographies. Completed HSM studies include: (1) Sheepscot Bay and Casco Bay, Maine: Multi-species habitat suitability index models, developed in coop- eration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf of Maine Program (Brown et al. 1997). 54 (2) Pensacola Bay, Florida: An assessment of potential impacts from changes in freshwater inflow on oyster populations (Christensen et al. 1997). (3) Apalachicola Bay, Florida: An assessment of poten- tial impacts from changes in freshwater inflow on oyster populations, developed in cooperation with Florida State University, University of South Florida, and Florida A&M University (Christensen et al. 1998). (4) Galveston Bay, Texas: A quantitative definition of Essential Fish Habitat, developed in cooperation with the NOAA/NMFS Galveston Lab. (Clark et al. 1999). (5) Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, Florida: An applica- tion of habitat suitability values across estuarine sys- tems to delineate habitat essential to sustainable fish- eries, developed in cooperation with the Florida Ma- rine Research Institute and the University of Miami (Rubec et al. 1999). Products and services for the identification of Essen- tial Fish Habitat (EFH). On October 11, 1996, Presi- dent Clinton signed the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man- agement Act (NOAA 1996). Among its provisions is a new requirement that all federal fisheries manage- ment plans must be amended to include the descrip- tion, identification, conservation, and enhancement of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). EFH is defined as "waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity." This infor- mation will be used by NOAA/NMFS, in consulta- tion with other federal agencies, concerning any activ- ity or proposed activity that may adversely impact EFH. In order to meet the mandates of the revised Magnuson Act, NOS and NMFS have developed work plans to identify EFH in the Gulf of Mexico (NOAA 1997b), Southeast (NOAA 1997c) and Northeast (NOAA 1998) regions. One of the major tasks as- signed to NOS is to provide existing biological data bases and maps, including the ELMR data for estua- rine species, and regional data atlases for offshore species. The primary tasks can be summarized as: (1) Conduct EFH needs assessment. (2) Provide digital spatial framework. (3) Provide biological and habitat data bases. (4) Accelerate development of ArcView® species map- ping tool. Coastal Ocean Resource Assessment (CORA). Coastal Ocean Resource Assessment (CORA) is a custom ex- tension of ArcView® GIS software being developed cooperatively by NOA A's Biogeography Program and the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) (ESRI 1997). CORA utilizes a Visual Basic user inter- face to link the capabilities of ArcView® GIS with Oracle® and Microsoft Access® DBMS software. CORA enables the integration and analysis of large, diverse coastal resources data sets, and the generation of maps and summary reports on the distribution, abundance and habitat of coastal fishes and inverte- brates. Gulfwide Information System (GWIS). In 1997, the Gulf Wide Information System (GWIS) project was initiated by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS), in cooperation with NOAA, the Gulf of Mexico states (FL, AL, MS, LA, TX) and others. The objective of the GWIS project is to develop an authoritative data base, as mandated by the Oil Spill Pollution Act of 1990, for oil spill contingency planning in the Gulf of Mexico region (NOAA 1997a). NOAA's role and contribution to GWIS is described above in Gulf of Mexico: Texas case example (see p. 48). NOAA submitted a final report to MMS in 1998 (Christensen and Monaco 1998). Coastal Analysis and Data Synthesis (CA&DS). NOAA's National Coastal Assessment and Data Syn- thesis (CA&DS) system will integrate national data sets for 138 estuaries within a spatial framework with analytical capabilities (Orlando 1999). The incorpora- tion of ELMR data into CA&DS is described in Selec- tion of estuaries (see p. 3). The Future NOAA's ELMR Program is now part of the Biogeog- raphy Program within the Center for Coastal Moni- toring and Assessment of the National Ocean Service. The goal of the Biogeography Program is to address three basic questions about estuarine and coastal spe- cies and habitats: • What are the distribution, abundance and life history characteristics of estuarine and coastal marine species? • What is the spatial extent of various estuarine, coastal and marine habitats? • What are the functional relationships between species and their associated habitats? 55 To address these questions, the Biogeography Pro- gram will continue to: • Update and improve the ELMR data base on a regional basis, using available fishery-indepen- dent survey data coupled with expert review. • Refine the spatial characterization of habitats for parameters such as salinity, temperature, bathym- etry and substrate, and use GIS to map these parameters. • Describe the association between species and their habitats by applying Habitat Suitability Model- ing (HSM) and Habitat Affinity Index (HAI) meth- odologies. • Develop an ELMR-like component for tropical reef species to complement the program's coral reef habitat mapping and reef fish census activi- ties. • Conduct targeted field research to validate spe- cies habitat suitability models. • Continue to apply available information and meth- odology to special projects such as Essential Fish Habitat (EFH), Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) mapping, and defining boundaries of ma- rine protected areas. • Make products and services available by publish- ing and distributing summary reports and ana- lytical papers. • Ensure that products and services are available in a timely manner through the following Web site: http://biogeo.nos.noaa.gov/ Acknowledgments We would like to extend special recognition to the principal investigators who have worked for NOAA's ELMR Program and contributed greatly to its success from 1985 to 2000: Linda Andreasen Timothy A. Battista Stephen K. Brown Kenneth R. Buja Christopher D. Caldow John D. Christensen Randall D. Clark Linda C. Clements Michael S. Coyne Thomas E. Czapla Robert L. Emmett Donald W. Field John D. Field Tracy A. Gill Susan A. Hinton Carol lancu Elizabeth A. Irlandi Christopher F. Jeffrey Steven H. Jury Matthew S. Kendall Tony A. Lowery Mary McCann Mark E. Monaco David Moe Nelson Mark E. Pattillo Lawrence R. Settle Steven L. Stone Christopher D. Williams We also thank all of the hundreds of fisheries scien- tists who have reviewed the data in each region, provided comments on draft reports, and provided additional information and guidance. Without their efforts, a study of this magnitude and complexity would not be possible. Thanks are due to Tom Minello for the cover photo of San Antonio Bay, Randy Clark for the maps of Galveston Bay, Ken Buja for the map of Massachusetts, Chris Clement for the regional maps, Pam Rubin for her editorial expertise, and Kevin McMahon for his assistance with final production and publication. A very special thanks goes to Dan Basta, whose vision and guidance made NOAA's ELMR program possible. 56 Literature Cited Ayvazian, S.G., L.A. Deegan, and J.T. Finn. 1992. Comparison of habitat use by estuarine fish assem- blages in the Acadian and Virginian zoogeographic provinces. Estuaries 15(3):368-383. Battista, T.A., M.E. Monaco, and R. Pavia. 1996. ESI/ ELMR/NEI integration effort: Technical guidelines. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Silver Spring, MD. 17 p. Briggs, J.C. 1974. Marine Zoogeography. McGraw- Hill, New York. 475 p. Brown, S.K., K.R. Buja, S.H. Jury, M.E. Monaco, and A. Banner. 1997. Habitat Suitability Index Models for Casco and Sheepscot Bays, Maine. 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(ed.), Proceedings of a workshop on egg, larval, and juvenile stages of fish in Atlantic Coast estuaries, p. 118-121. Tech. Pub. No. 1, NOAA/NMFS Mid. Atlantic Coast. Fish. Cent., Highlands, NJ, 338 p. Jury, S.H., J.D. Field, S.L. Stone, D.M. Nelson, and M.E. Monaco. 1994. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in North Atlantic estuaries. ELMRRep. No. 13. NOAA/NOSSEA Division, Silver Spring, MD. 221 p. Langton, R.W., R.K. Knowles, and K.J. Ward. 1989. Examination and ecology of potential nursery areas along coastal Maine for groundfish. Final Rep. Project No. 3-426-R, Maine Dept. Marine Resources, W. Boothbay, ME. 114 p. MacDonald, J.S., M.J. Dadswell, R.G. Appy, G.D. Melvin, and D.A. Methven. 1984. Fishes, fish assem- blages, and their seasonal movements in the lower Bay of Fundy and Passamaquoddy Bay, Canada. Fish. Bull., U.S. 82(1):121-139. Mann, K.H. 1982. Ecology of coastal waters. Univ. Calif. Press, Los Angeles, CA, 322 p. McHugh,J.L. 1967. Estuarine nekton. In Lauff,G.H., (ed.), Estuaries, p. 581-620. Publication No. 83, Ameri- can Association for the Advancement of Science, Wash- ington, DC. MDMR. 1993. Inshore trawl survey data, Ipswich Bay to Frenchman's Bay. Unpublished data. Maine Dept. Marine Resources, W. Boothbay Harbor, ME. Mettee, M.F., P.E. O'Neil, and J.M. Pierson. 1996. Fishes of Alabama and the Mobile Basin. Oxmoor House, Birmingham, AL. 820 p. Monaco, M.E. 1986. National Estuarine Inventory: Living marine resources component, preliminary West Coast study. NOAA/NOS Ocean Assessments Divi- sion, Rockville, MD. 33 p. Monaco, M.E. 1995. Comparative analysis of estua- rine biophysical characteristics and trophic structure: Defining ecosystem function to fishes. Ph.D. disserta- tion, Univ. Maryland, College Park, MD. Monaco, M.E., T.E. Czapla, D.M. Nelson, and M.E. Pattillo. 1989. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in Texas estuaries. ELMR Rep. No. 3. NOAA/NOS Strategic Assessment Branch, Rockville, MD. 107 p. Monaco, M.E., T.A. Lowery, and R.L. Emmett. 1992. Assemblages of U.S. West Coast estuaries based on the distribution of fishes. J. Biogeography 19:251-267. Monaco, M.E., D.M. Nelson, R.L. Emmett, and S.A. Hinton. 1990. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in West Coast estuaries, Volume I: Data summaries. ELMR Rep. No. 4. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Silver Spring, MD. 232 p. Monaco, M.E., and R.E. Ulanowicz. 1997. Compara- tive ecosystem trophic structure of three U.S. mid- Atlantic estuaries. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 161:239-254. Monaco, M.E., S.B. Weisberg, and T.A. Lowery. 1998. Summer habitat affinities of estuarine fish in U.S. Mid- Atlantic coastal systems. Fish. Manag. Ecol. 5:161- 171. Nelson, D.M., M.E. Monaco, CD. Williams, T.E. Czapla, M.E. Pattillo, L. Coston-Clements, L.R. Settle, and E.A.Irlandi. 1991. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in southeast estuaries. ELMR Rep. No. 9. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Rockville, MD. 177 p. Nelson, D.M. (ed.), M.E. Monaco, CD. Williams, T.E. Czapla, M.E. Pattillo, L.C. Clements, L.R. Settle, and E.A. Irlandi. 1992. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in Gulf of Mexico estuaries, Volume I: Data summaries. ELMR Rep. No. 10. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Rockville, MD. 273 p. NMFS. 1995. Proposed Recovery Plan for Snake River Salmon. NOAA/NMFS Northwest Region, Seattle, WA. NMFS. 1997. Revision of candidate species list under the Endangered Species Act. Fed. Reg. 62(134):37560- 37563. NOAA. 1985a. National Estuarine Inventory: Data atlas. Volume 1. Physical and Hydrologic Character- istics. NOAA/NOS Strategic Assessment Branch, Rockville, MD. 103 p. NOAA. 1985b. Gulf of Mexico Coastal and Ocean Zones Strategic Assessment: Data Atlas. NOAA/ NOS Strategic Assessment Branch, Rockville, MD. 161 p. 58 NOAA. 1990a. Estuaries of the United States: Vital statistics of a national resource base. Strategic Assess- ment Branch, NOAA/NOS, Rockville, MD. 79 p. NOAA. 1990b. West Coast of North America strate- gic assessment: Data atlas. Invertebrate and fish vol- ume. Pre-publication edition. Strategic Assessment Branch, NOAA/NOS, Rockville, MD. 112 p. NOAA. 1991 . Prospectus for the East Coast of North America Strategic Assessment Project: Biogeographic characterization component. NOAA/NOS SEA Divi- sion, Rockville, MD. 17 p. NOAA. 1992a. Status of fishery resources off the southeastern United States for 1991. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-SEFSC-306, April 1992. 75 p. NOAA. 1992b. Status of fishery resources off the northeastern United States for 1992. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-F/NEC-95, October 1992. 133 p. NOAA. 1996. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva- tion and Management Act, Public Law 94-265, as amended through October 11, 1996. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-F/SPO-23, December 1996. 121 p. NOAA. 1997a. Gulf Wide Information System: ORCA Component. Prospectus: February 1997. NOAA/ NOS SEA Division, Silver Spring, MD. 29 p. NOAA. 1997b. Work plan: Products and Services for the identification of Essential Fish Habitat in the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA/NOS SEA Division and NOAA/ NMFS SEFSC. October 1997. 14 p. NOAA. 1997c. Work plan: Products and Services for the identification of Essential Fish Habitat in the South Atlantic region. NO A A / NOS SEA Division and South Atlantic Fishery Managment Council. 13 p. NOAA. 1998a. Work plan: Products and Services for the identification of Essential Fish Habitat in the Mid- Atlantic and New England regions. NOAA/NOS SEA Division and NOAA/NMFS Howard Lab. 8 p. NOAA/GMFMC. 1998. Product overview: Products and services for the identification of essential fish habitat in the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, NOAA/NMFS Galveston Lab, and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. 11 p. O'Connor, T.P. 1990. Coastal environmental quality in the United States, 1990: Chemical contamination in sediment and tissues. NOAA/NOS Ocean Assess- ments Division, Rockville, MD. 34 p. Orlando, S.P. 1999. NOAA's National Coastal As- sessment and Data Synthesis Framework. NOAA/ NOS Special Projects Office, Silver Spring, MD. 4 p. Orlando, S.P., Jr., L.P. Rozas, G.H. Ward, and C.J. Klein. 1993. Salinity Characteristics ofGulf ofMexico Estuaries. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Silver Spring, MD. 209 p. Orlando, S.P., Jr., P.H. Wendt, C.J. Klein, M.E. Pattillo, K.C. Dennis, and G.H. Ward. 1994. Salinity Charac- teristics of South Atlantic Estuaries. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Silver Spring, MD. 117 p. Pattillo, M.E., T.E. Czapla, D.M. Nelson, and M.E. Monaco. 1997. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in Gulf of Mexico estuaries, Volume II: Species life history summaries. ELMR Rep. No. 1 1 . NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Silver Spring, MD. 377 p. Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E. A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada, fifth edition. Spec. Pub. No. 20. Ameri- can Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD. 183 p. RPI. 1996. Sensitivity of Coastal Environments and Wildlife to Spilled Oil, North Carolina, A Coastal Atlas. Three volumes. Prepared by Research Plan- ning, Inc. for NOAA. Volume 1, 14 text pages, 35 maps; Volume 2, 16 text pages, 50 maps; Volume 3, 16 text pages, 49 maps. RPI. 1997. Sensitivity of Coastal Environments and Wildlife to Spilled Oil, Georgia, A Coastal Atlas. Pre- pared by Research Planning, Inc., for NOAA. 16 text pages, 38 maps. RPI. 1999. Sensitivity of Coastal Environments and Wildlife to Spilled Oil, Massachusetts, A Coastal At- las. Prepared by Research Planning, Inc., for NOAA. Rubec, P.J., J.C.W. Bexley, H. Norris, M.S. Coyne, M.E. Monaco, S.G. Smith, and J.S. Ault. 1999. Suitability modeling to delineate habitat essential to sustainable fisheries. American Fisheries Society Symposium 22:108-133. Rubec, P.J., J.D. Christensen, W.S. Arnold, H. Norris, P. Steele, and M.E. Monaco. 1998. GIS and modeling: Coupling habitats to Florida fisheries. J. Shellfish Res. 17(5):1451-1457. Rubec, P.J., M.E. Monaco, and J.D. Christensen. 1997. The FLELMR spatial decision support system for coastal resources management. 11th Ann. Symp. GIS:135-138. 59 Rubec, P.J., and J. O'Hop. 1996. GIS application for fisheries and coastal resources management. GSMFC Rep. No. 43. Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commis- sion, Ocean Springs, MS. 200 p. Schamberger, M., A.H. Farmer, and J. W. Terrell. 1982. Habitat suitability index models: Introduction. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service FWS/OBS-82/10: 2 pp. Stone, S.L., T.A. Lowery, J.D. Field, S.H. Jury, D.M. Nelson, M.E. Monaco, C.D. Williams, and L.A. Andreasen. 1994. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in Mid-Atlantic estuaries. ELMRRep.No. 12. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Silver Spring, MD. 280 p. Turgeon, D.D., A.E. Bogan, E.V. Coan, W.K. Emerson, W.G. Lynons, W.L. Pratt, C.F.E. Roper, A. Scheltema, F.G. Thompson, and J.D. Williams. 1988. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. Spec. Pub. No. 16. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD. 277 p. Tyler, A. V. 1971. Periodic and resident components in communities of Atlantic fishes. J. Fish Res. Bd. Can. 28:935-946. VanVoorhees, D.A., J.F. Witzig, M.F. Osborn, M.C. Holliday, and R.J. Essig. 1992. Marine recreational fishery statistics survey, Atlantic and Gulf coasts, 1990-1991. Current Fisheries Statistics No. 9204. NOAA/NMFS Fish. Stat. Div., Silver Spring, MD. 275 P- Williams, A.B., L.G. Abele, D.L. Felder, H.H. Hobbs, Jr., R.B. Manning, P.A. McLaughlin, and I. Perez Farfante. 1988. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Decapod crustaceans. Spec. Pub. No. 17. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD. 77 p. Williams, CD., D.M. Nelson, L. Coston-Clements, M.E. Monaco, S.L. Stone, C. Iancu, and E.A. Irlandi. 1990. Distribution and abundance of fishes and inver- tebrates in eastern Gulf of Mexico estuaries. ELMR Rep. No. 6. NOA A / NOS Strategic Assessment Branch, Rockville, MD. 105 p. 60 NOAA s Estuarine Living Marine Resources Program In | une l<-)85, NOAA began a program to develop a comprehensive information base on the life history, relative abundance, and distribution of fishes and invertebrates in estuaries throughout the nation. The Estuarine Living Marine Resources (ELMR) program has been conducted jointly by the National Ocean Service (NOS), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and other agencies and institutions. The nationwide ELMR data base was completed in 1994, and includes data for 153 species found in 122 estuaries and coastal embayments. A series of reports and reprints are available free upon request. This report provides a national overview of the ELMR program, and a summary of the regional studies. Three to five salinity zones provide the spatial framework for organizing information on species distribution and abundance within each estuary. The primary data developed for each species include spatial distribution by salinity zone, temporal distribution by month, and relative abundance by life stage, e.g., adult, spawning, juvenile, larva, and egg. In addition, life history summaries and tables are developed for each species. Additional information on ELMR and the NOAA/NOS Biogeography Program is available from: Dr. Mark E. Monaco NOAA/NOS Biogeography Program 1305 East-West Hwy., 9th Floor, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910-3281 phone (301) 713-3028, fax (301) 713-4384 email Mark.Monaco@noaa.gov website http://biogeo.nos.noaa.gov Selected reports and reprints available from NOAA's Biogeography Program include: Monaco, M.E., et al. 1990. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in west coast estuaries, Vol. I: Data summaries. ELMR Rep. No. 4. NOAA/NO SEA Division, Rockville, MD. 232 p. Emmett, R.L., et al. 1991. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in west coast estuaries, Vol. II: Species life history summaries. ELMR Rep. No. 8. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Rockville, MD. 329 p. Nelson, D.M., et al. 1991. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in southeast estuaries. ELMR Rep. No. 9. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Rockville, MD. 167 p. Monaco, M.E., et al. 1992. Assemblages of U.S. west coast estuaries based on the distribution of fishes. J. Biogeography 19: 251-267. Nelson, D.M. (editor), et al. 1992. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in Gulf of Mexico estuaries, Vol. I: Data summaries. ELMR Rep. No. 10. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Rockville, MD. 273 p. Bulger, A.J., et al. 1993. Biologically-based salinity zones derived from a multivariate analysis. Estuaries 16: 311-322. Stone, S.L., et al. 1994. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in Mid- Atlantic estuaries. ELMR Rep. No. 12. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Silver Spring, MD. 280 p. Jury, S.H., et al. 1994. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in North Atlantic estuaries. ELMR Rep. No. 13. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Silver Spring, MD. 221 p. Bulger, A.J., et al. 1995. Estuarine-catadromy : A life history strategy coupling marine and estuarine environments via coastal inlets. ELMR Rep. No. 14. NOAA/NOS SEA Division, Silver Spring, MD, 110 p. Christensen, J.D., et al . 1 997. An index to assess the sensitivity of Gulf of Mexico species to changes in estuarine salinity regimes. Gulf Res. Rep.9(4):219-229. Pattirio, M.E., et al. 1997. Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in Gulf of Mexico estuaries, Vol. U: Species life history summaries. ELMR Rep. No. 1 1 . NOAA/NOS SEA Division, SUver Spring, MD. 377 p. Monaco, M.E., and R.E. Ulanowicz. 1997. Comparative ecosystem trophic structure of three U.S. mid-Atlantic estuaries. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 161:239-254. Monaco, M.E., et al. 1998. Summer habitat affinities of estuarine fish in U.S. mid-Atlantic coastal systems. Fish. Manag. Ecol. 5:161-171. Nelson, D.M., and M.E. Monaco. 2000. National Overview and Evolution of NOAA's Estuarine Living Marine Resources (ELMR) Program. NOAA Tech. Memo. NOS NCCOS CCMA 144, 60 p. Ml e\r ^ 1