Abstract

Estuaries are highly productive ecosystems containing several habitats many of which are widely considered to serve as important nursery habitats (e.g. seagrasses, salt marsh) for many species of juvenile fishes and invertebrates. While the importance of estuarine habitats to early juvenile stages has been widely documented (Rooker et al. 1998, Minello et al. 2003) relatively little is known about habitat use during late juvenile and sub-adult life stages. Since many fish species remain in estuarine habitats throughout more mobile late juvenile and sub-adult stages before reaching sexual maturity, an improved understanding of habitat use and connectivity at these life stages is needed to effectively prioritize the conserva-tion of essential fish habitat. Here we utilize acoustic telemetry to examine species-specific and ontogenetic differences in habitat use of two economically important fishes (red drum Sciaenops ocellatus and southern flounder Paralichthys lethostigma) at multiple spatial scales within a model estuarine seascape (Christmas Bay, Texas USA).

PDF Preview