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Utilization Of Saltmarsh Shorelines By Newly Settled Sciaenids In A Texas Estuary, Bert W. Geary, Jay R. Rooker, James W. Webb

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Post-settlement patterns of habitat use along saltmarsh shorelines of Galveston Bay, Texas were examined for three sciaenids; spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), and Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus). Collections were made summer through fall of 1997 and 1998 using a 1.5-m beam trawl hand-towed along the outside edge of salt marshes. Sciaenids were collected from tidal pass, bay, and remote tidal creek areas to assess large-scale (bay-wide) patterns of distribution and abundance. Cynoscion nebulosus were smaller and most numerous at bay stations, with densities peaking in June. Conversely, S. ocellatus were collected …