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Upriver migration and abundance of naked goby (Gobiosoma bosci) larvae in the Patuxent River estuary, Maryland

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Abstract

Larvae of the naked goby,Gobiosoma bosci, were collected during the spring and early summer of 1977 in the upper tidal Patuxent River, Maryland. Larvae first appeared in the collections on May 5. Weekly night sampling at 26 stations covering 28 km of the Patuxent illustrated the upriver movement of larvae, at an estimated rate of about 1 km per day. Larval densities quickly reached high levels, with a maximum density of more than 6,000 larvae per 100 m3 at one station on June 16. By June 23, the mean larval density for the entire 28 km stretch of the river was 1,825 larvae per 100 m3. Length-frequency distributions of the larvae illustrate the growth of the larvae, continual recruitment into the population, and a gradient in mean population length over the sampling transect that was due to the presence of the smallest larvae in the lower stations.

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Author notes

  1. Jonathan M. Shenker

    Present address: School of Oceanography, Oregon State University, 97330, Corvallis, Oregon

  2. Phyllis E. Frere

    Present address: Potomac Electric Power Company, 1900 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., 20068, Washington, D.C.

  3. Waldo W. Wakefield

    Present address: Scripps Institute of Oceanography, 92093, La Jolla, CA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Benedict Estuarine Research Laboratory, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 20612, Benedict, Maryland

    Jonathan M. Shenker, Donald J. Hepner, Phyllis E. Frere, Lorraine E. Currence & Waldo W. Wakefield

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  1. Jonathan M. Shenker
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  2. Donald J. Hepner
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  3. Phyllis E. Frere
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  4. Lorraine E. Currence
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  5. Waldo W. Wakefield
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Shenker, J.M., Hepner, D.J., Frere, P.E. et al. Upriver migration and abundance of naked goby (Gobiosoma bosci) larvae in the Patuxent River estuary, Maryland. Estuaries 6, 36–42 (1983). https://doi.org/10.2307/1351804

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1351804

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