Ichthyoplankton survey of the estuarine and inshore waters of the Florida Everglades, May 1971 to February 1972

Quarterly ichthyoplankton sampling was conducted at 16 estuarine and 24 inshore stations along the Florida Everglades from May 1971 to February 1972. The area is one of the most pristine along lhe Florida coast. The survey provided the first comprehensive information on seasonal occurrence, abundance (under 10 m' of surface area), and distribution of fish eggs and larvae in this area. A total of 209,462 fish eggs and 78,865 larvae was collected. Eggs were identified only as fish eggs, but among the larvae, 37 families, 47 genera, and 37 species were identified. Abundance of eggs and larvae, and diversity of larvae, were greatest in the inshore zone. The 10 most abundant fish families which together made up 90.7% of all larvae from the study area were, in descending order of abundance: Clupeidae, Engraulidae, Gobiidae, Sciaenidae, Carangidae, Pomadasyidae, Cynoglossidae, Gerreidae, Triglidae, and Soleidae. Clupeidae, Engraulidae, and Gobiidae made up 59.9% of all larvae. The inshore zone (to a depth of about 10 m) was a spawning ground and nursery for many fishes important to fisheries. The catch of small larvae (<>3.5 mm SL) indicated that most fishes identified from the 10 most abundant families spawned throughout the inshore zone at depths of <> 10 m, but Orthopristis chrysoptera, Gerreidae, and Prionotus spp. spawned at depths > 10 m, with offshore to inshore (eastward) larval transport. Salinity was one of several environmental factors that probably limited the numbers of eggs and larvae in the estuarine zone. Abundance of eggs and larvae at inshore stations was usually as great as, and sometimes greater than, the abundance of eggs and larvae at offshore stations (due west of the Everglades). (PDF file contains 81 pages.)