An Investigation of the Fish Population Within the Inland Waters of Horn Island, Mississippi, A Barrier Island in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

An investigation to ascertain the species composition and the relative abundance of the fish population within the inland waters of Horn Island, Mississippi, a member of the offshore barrier island chain, was made from August 1965 to September 1966, and 69 species representing 58 genera and 35 families were encountered. In respect to the fishes certain biological and physical factors were noted. Forty-nine collecting stations were established on the island, and these were categorized according to the nature of their appearance and location. A salinity range from fresh to 29.9 ppt. was recorded for the sampled bodies of water, with the high salinity areas being under the influence of Mississippi Sound waters. Fishes with both marine and brackish water affinities were collected. Euryhaline species were taken from both fresh water and water which was approaching fresh; however, no true fresh water fishes were obtained. Members of the Atherinidae, Cyprinodontidae, and Poeciliidae (Menidia beryllina, Cyprinodon variegatus, Fundulus similis, Gambusia affinnis, and Poecilia latipinna) contributed most conspicuously to the fish population. Other families which were encountered formed somewhat less conspicuous elements in the population. The killifishes and poeciliids are capable of completing their life histories in the majority of examined areas, and these species contributed most obviously to the permanent occupancy of the inland waters due to their established resident breeding populations

A Pugheaded Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) from the Northcentral Gulf of Mexico

A pugheaded cobia (Rachycentron canadum) captured in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico represents the first record of pugheadedness in cobia. The specimen, a 4-year-old gravid female, exhibited considerable distortion of the premaxillary and maxillary bones, with the length of the snout 46% shorter than that of a normal cobia of the same length. The anomaly had no apparent effect on feeding, since the stomach contained a substantial amount of food, and the fish was the same length expected of a normal 4-year-old cobia

A Pugheaded Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) from the Northcentral Gulf of Mexico

A pugheaded cobia (Rachycentron canadum) captured in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico represents the first record of pugheadedness in cobia. The specimen, a 4-year-old gravid female, exhibited considerable distortion of the premaxillary and maxillary bones, with the length of the snout 46% shorter than that of a normal cobia of the same length. The anomaly had no apparent effect on feeding, since the stomach contained a substantial amount of food, and the fish was the same length expected of a normal 4-year-old cobia

An Investigation of the Fish Population Within the Inland Waters of Horn Island, Mississippi, A Barrier Island in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

An investigation to ascertain the species composition and the relative abundance of the fish population within the inland waters of Horn Island, Mississippi, a member of the offshore barrier island chain, was made from August 1965 to September 1966, and 69 species representing 58 genera and 35 families were encountered. In respect to the fishes certain biological and physical factors were noted. Forty-nine collecting stations were established on the island, and these were categorized according to the nature of their appearance and location. A salinity range from fresh to 29.9 ppt. was recorded for the sampled bodies of water, with the high salinity areas being under the influence of Mississippi Sound waters. Fishes with both marine and brackish water affinities were collected. Euryhaline species were taken from both fresh water and water which was approaching fresh; however, no true fresh water fishes were obtained. Members of the Atherinidae, Cyprinodontidae, and Poeciliidae (Menidia beryllina, Cyprinodon variegatus, Fundulus similis, Gambusia affinnis, and Poecilia latipinna) contributed most conspicuously to the fish population. Other families which were encountered formed somewhat less conspicuous elements in the population. The killifishes and poeciliids are capable of completing their life histories in the majority of examined areas, and these species contributed most obviously to the permanent occupancy of the inland waters due to their established resident breeding populations

An Investigation of the Fish Population Within the Inland Waters of Horn Island, Mississippi, A Barrier Island in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

An investigation to ascertain the species composition and the relative abundance of the fish population within the inland waters of Horn Island, Mississippi, a member of the offshore barrier island chain, was made from August 1965 to September 1966, and 69 species representing 58 genera and 35 families were encountered. In respect to the fishes certain biological and physical factors were noted. Forty-nine collecting stations were established on the island, and these were categorized according to the nature of their appearance and location. A salinity range from fresh to 29.9 ppt. was recorded for the sampled bodies of water, with the high salinity areas being under the influence of Mississippi Sound waters. Fishes with both marine and brackish water affinities were collected. Euryhaline species were taken from both fresh water and water which was approaching fresh; however, no true fresh water fishes were obtained. Members of the Atherinidae, Cyprinodontidae, and Poeciliidae (Menidia beryllina, Cyprinodon variegatus, Fundulus similis, Gambusia affinnis, and Poecilia latipinna) contributed most conspicuously to the fish population. Other families which were encountered formed somewhat less conspicuous elements in the population. The killifishes and poeciliids are capable of completing their life histories in the majority of examined areas, and these species contributed most obviously to the permanent occupancy of the inland waters due to their established resident breeding populations

First Record of Ceratapsis monstrosa, a Larval Oceanic Penaeoid Crustacean, From the Gulf of Mexico

The genus Cerataspis (Gray, 1838) (Crustacea, Decapoda), assigned to the Penaeoidea by Burkenroad (1936) and Heegaard (1966), has circumglobal distribution between 40ºN and 40ºS (Morgan et al. 1985) and is represented in the Atlantic Ocean by two rarely collected species, C. monstrosa and C. petiti. Descriptions of both species are based on the larval forms since their adult form remain undescribed (Morgan et al. 1985). Although the larval development of Cerataspis is described by five mysis stages (I-V) (Heegaard 1966), the large larva is very un-mysid like and appears more like that of a megalops with the abdomen bend slightly toward the thorax. Other early developmental stages and life history aspects of Cerataspis are unknown. The bulky shape of the spectacular carapace with its various tubercles, horns, spines and large oil droplets contained in four pair of dorsal carapace tubercles most likely provide buoyancy for this pelagic life stage (Heegaard 1966, Morgan et al. 1985). Although larval Cerataspis, particularly the last three mysis stages, are typically pelagic, Heegaard (1966) suggested the adult form might be a reptant penaeoid which lives in the abyssal zone. Heegaard (1966) reported 41 specimens of Cerataspis (26 C. monstrosa; 15 C. petiti) by mysis larval stage. Nine of the C. monstrosa (six from plankton samples; three from stomach contents of dolphinfish (Coryphaena spp.) and 13 of the C. petiti (all from plankton collections) were reported from the Atlantic Ocean. Morgan et al. (1985) further provided analysis of an additional 240 specimens of Cerataspis collected during surveys conducted off the southeastern United States, including Batts (1972), Manooch et al. (1983), and Manooch and Mason (1984). One of those specimens was collected by plankton net, and all others were found in the stomach contents of either yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), blackfin tuna (Thunnus atlanticus), skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) or dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus). To date, assessment of plankton collections and food habits of pelagic fishes from the Atlantic Ocean, inclusive of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) (Heegaard 1966, Morgan et al. 1985), has provided no records of Cerataspis from the GOM. We report the first record of C. monstrosa from the GOM, one collected by plankton net and two collected from the esophagus of a wahoo, Acanthocybium solandri

Food of Cobia, Rachycentron canadum, from the Northcentral Gulf of Mexico

The stomach contents of 403 cobia, Rachycentron canadum, caught in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico recreational fishery from April through October of 1987-1990 were examined. Cobia ranged from 373-1,530 mm in fork length. Of the 403 stomachs, 287 (71.2%) contained at least one identifiable prey taxon. Crustaceans, consisting primarily of portunid crabs, were the predominant food. Crustaceans occurred in 79.1% of the stomachs and comprised 77.6% of the total number of identifiable prey. The second most important prey category was fish which was dominated by hardhead catfish, Arius felis, and eels. Fish occurred in 58.5% of the stomachs but only accounted for 20.3% of the total number of prey. The importance of fish as prey increased with increasing size (length) of cobia, with the largest size class of cobia (1,150-1,530 mm FL) showing the highest percent frequency occurrence of fish prey (84.4%). There were no significant differences between the diets of male and female cobia. Species composition of the diet indicated that cobia examined in this study were generalist carnivores in their feeding habits and fed primarily on benthic/epibenthic crustaceans and fishes. However, the occurrence of pelagic prey provided evidence of diversity in the foraging behavior of cobia. Feeding in cobia indicated their dependence upon prey availability rather than upon a few specific food organisms

Food of Cobia, Rachycentron canadum, from the Northcentral Gulf of Mexico

The stomach contents of 403 cobia, Rachycentron canadum, caught in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico recreational fishery from April through October of 1987-1990 were examined. Cobia ranged from 373-1,530 mm in fork length. Of the 403 stomachs, 287 (71.2%) contained at least one identifiable prey taxon. Crustaceans, consisting primarily of portunid crabs, were the predominant food. Crustaceans occurred in 79.1% of the stomachs and comprised 77.6% of the total number of identifiable prey. The second most important prey category was fish which was dominated by hardhead catfish, Arius felis, and eels. Fish occurred in 58.5% of the stomachs but only accounted for 20.3% of the total number of prey. The importance of fish as prey increased with increasing size (length) of cobia, with the largest size class of cobia (1,150-1,530 mm FL) showing the highest percent frequency occurrence of fish prey (84.4%). There were no significant differences between the diets of male and female cobia. Species composition of the diet indicated that cobia examined in this study were generalist carnivores in their feeding habits and fed primarily on benthic/epibenthic crustaceans and fishes. However, the occurrence of pelagic prey provided evidence of diversity in the foraging behavior of cobia. Feeding in cobia indicated their dependence upon prey availability rather than upon a few specific food organisms

Feeding Habits of Juvenile Lane Snapper Lutjanus synagris from Mississippi Coastal Waters, with Comments on the Diet of Gray Snapper Lutjanus griseus

Stomach contents analysis was used to quantitatively describe the diets of juvenile lane snapper, Lutjanus synagris, and juvenile gray snapper, Lutjanus griseus, from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Juvenile snapper were collected by trawling at two estuarine, deep channel sites in Mississippi coastal waters from September 1996 to January 1997. Lane snapper (n = 53) and gray snapper (n = 12) both consumed a variety of prey organisms, but primary prey were amphipods, decapods (shrimp and crabs), and fishes. The most important prey items for lane snapper based on percent Index of Relative Importance (%IRI) were shrimp remains (44%IRI), the shrimp Latreutes parvulus (23%IRI) and fish remains (13%IRI). Fishes of the genus Anchoa (43%IRI), shrimp remains (21%IRI) and the amphipod Corophium sp. (13%IRI) dominated the gray snapper diet. Intraspecific comparisons of lane snapper diet revealed significant overlap between collection sites, seasons and fish sizes

Observations on Mass Mortalities of the Sooty Eel, Bascanichthys bascanium, and the Speckled Worm Eel, Myrophis punctatus, Associated With a Fish Kill in the Mississippi Sound

Mass mortalities of the sooty eel, Bascanichthys bascanium, and the speckled worm eel, Myrophis punctatus, were observed in association with a fish kill which occurred the morning of 18 June 1994 on the south shore of Deer Island, a nearshore barrier island located off Biloxi, Mississippi. B. bascanium and M. punctatus, as well as other fishes, were found dead and dying near the shore in reddish-brown water and along a lengthy stretch of fringing sandy beach. Both species of eels are infrequently reported from Mississippi waters but were the most abundant fishes recorded from the kill. A visual census conducted along ~1.6 km of shoreline and partially submerged tidal flat estimated eel mortalities at 8,000 individuals. The presence of highly discolored water and the lethargic behavior displayed by live eels and other fishes at the site of the kill suggested the episode may have been related to a localized phytoplankton bloom