REFERENCECOPY Do Not Remove from the Library U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Biological Report, 82(11.30) lUatlona' vveTlanasKeSemr TR EL-82-4 April. 1985 700 Cajun Dome Boule\lard Lafayette, Louisiana 7r1536

Species Profiles: Life Histories and Environmental Requirements of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (Gulf of Mexico) SOUTHERN

Coastal Ecology Group Fish and Wildlife Service Waterways Experiment Station U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Army Corps of Engineers This is one of the first reports to be publ ished in the new "Biological Report'' series. This technical report series, publ ished by the Research and Development branch of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, replaces the "FWS/OBS1I series published from 1976 to September 1984. The Biolog- ical Report series is designed for the rapid publ ication of reports with an application orientation, and it continues the focus of the FWS/OBS series on resource management issues and fish and wild1ife needs. Biological Report 82(11.30) TR EL-82-4 April 1985

Species Profiles: Life Hi stories and Envi ronlnental Requirements of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (Gulf of Mexico)

SOUTHERN FLOUNDER

Roland E. Reagan, Jr. and William M. Wingo Department of Wildlife and Fisheries 136 Dorrnan Hal 1 Mississippi State University Missi ssi ppi State, MS 39 762

Project Manager Larry Shanks Project Officer John Parsons National Coastal Ecosystems Team U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1010 Gause Boulevard Sl idel 1 , LA 70458

Performed for

Coastal Ecol ogy Group U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station Vicksburg, MS 39180

and

National Coastal Ecosystems Team Division of Biological Services Research and Development Fi sh and Wi1 dli fe Servi ce U.S. Department of the Interior Washington , DC 20240 This series can be referenced as follows: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1983-19 . Species profiles: life histories and envi ronlnental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 82(11). 1J.S. Corps of Engineers TR EL-82-4.

TQis profile can be cited as follows:

Reagan, R.E., Jr., and W.M. Uingo. 1985. Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (Gulf of Mexico)--southern flounder. U.S. Fish Wi1 dl. Serv. Biol . Rep. 82(11.30). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers TR EL-82-4. 9 pp. PREFACE

This species profile is one of a series on coastal aquatic organisms, principally fish, of sport, commercial, or ecological importance. The profiles are designed to provide coastal managers, engineers, and biologists with a brief comprehensive sketch of the bi01 og ical characteristics and environmental require- ments of the species and to describe how populations of the species may be expected to react to enviro~lental changes caused by coastal development. Each profile has sections on taxonmy, 1ife history, ecological role, environmental requirements, and economic importance, if appl icabl e. A three-ring binder is used for this series so that new profiles can be added as they are prepared. This project is jointly planned and financed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Suggestions or questions regarding this report should be directed to one of the following addresses.

Information Transfer Special ist National Coastal Ecosystems Team U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service NASA-Sl idel 1 Computer Compl ex 1010 Gause Boulevard Sl idel 1 , LA 70458

U. S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station Attenti on : WESER-C Post Office Box 631 Vicksburg, MS 39180 CONVERSION TABLE

Metric to U.S. Customary

Mu1 tiply EL To Obtain mil1 imeters (mn) inches centimeters (an) inches meters (m) feet ki1 orneters ( km) mil es 2 square meters (m ) 10.76 square feet square ki1 meters ( km2) 0.3861 square miles hectares (ha) 2.471 acres liters (1) gal 1ons cubic meters (m3) cubic feet cubic meters acre-feet mil 1 igrams (mg) 0.00003527 ounces grams (g) 0.03527 ounces kilograms (kg) 2.205 pounds metric tons (t) 2205.0 pounds metric tons 1.102 short tons ki1 ocal ories ( kcal ) 3.968 British thermal uni ts

Cel sius degrees 1.8("C) + 32 Fahrenheit degrees

U.S. Customary to Metric inches 25.40 mil1 imeters inches 2.54 centimeters feet (ft) 0.3048 meters fathorns 1.829 meters miles (mi) 1.609 kilometers nautical miles (mi) 1.852 ki1 ometers square feet (ft2) 0.0929 square meters hectares acres 2 0.4047 square miles (mi ) 2.590 square ki1 ometers gallons (gal) 3.785 1i ters cubic feet (ft3) 0.02831 cubic meters acre- feet 1233.0 cubic meters ounces (02) 28.35 grams pounds (Ib) 0.4536 ki1 ograms short tons (ton) 0.9072 metric tons British thermal units (Btu) 0.2520 ki1 ocal ories Fahrenheit degrees 0.5556(" F - 32) Celsius degrees CONTENTS

Page PREFACE ...... CONVERSION TABLE ...... ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... NOMENCLATURE//RANGE ...... MORPHOLOGY AND IDENTIFICATION AIDS ...... REASON FOR ZNCLUSIOti IN SERIES ...... LIFE HISTORY ...... Spawning ...... Fecundity ...... Larvae ...... Junveniles and Adults ...... GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS ...... FISHERY ...... ECOLOGICAL ROLE ...... Food Habits ...... Behavior ...... ?...... ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENT7 ...... Temperature ...... ~alinity ...... Dissolved Oxygen ...... Substrate ...... LITERATURE CITED ...... We thank Hugh Swingle of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Dickson Hoese of the University of Southwestern Louisiana for reviewing the manuscript. Figure 1. Southern flounder.

SOUTHERN FLOUNDER

sometimes enter freshwater (Gu therz 196 7). Scientific nawe ...... (Jordan and Gilbert) Preferred common name ..... Southern MORPHOLOGY AND IDENTIFICATION AIDS flounder (Figure 1). Other common names ...... Flounder, Dorsal fin rays range from 80 to mud flounder, doormat, and ha1 ibut 95; anal rays from 63 to 74, and Class ...... Osteichthyes pectoral fin (eye side) rays from 11 Order ...... Pleuronectiformes to 13. Upper gill rakers on the upper Family ...... limb of the first gill arch range from 2 to 3 and lower gill rakers on the Geographic Range: The southern floun- lower limb from 8 to 11. Scales in der 'inhahi ts the coastal wters of the range from 35 to 100. the east coast and the Gulf of Mex- Body depth is 30% to 47% of standard ico (Figure 2) from North Carolina length (SL). The eyes are on the left to Texas. They are common along the side and color is light to dark brown shores of bays, sounds, and lagoons with diffuse nonocel lated dark in comparatively shall ow waters and spots and blotches. The blindside is white or dusky (Hoese and weeks before spawning took place, Moore 1977). males began fol lowing gravid females in the tanks. The first spawning was on December 21. Spawning was at REASON FOR INCLUSION IN THE SERIES midday, when females swam to the surface and released eggs that The southern flounder is a valua- were immediately ferti1 ized by ble sport and commercial fish along attending males. Fertilization was the gulf coast. Sport fishiqg is done 30% to 50% successful, and 6% by hook and line and by gigging. Most to 35% of the eggs hatched in of the cominercial catch is incidental 61 to 76 hr (Arnold et al. to the catch by shrimp trawlers. 1977). According to Jackson (1972) the southern flounder is "one of the most sought after and prized fish in the --Fecundity area and is recognized for its fine flavor." Thirteen southern examined in the laboratory, produced a total of 120,000 eggs (average about LIFE HISTORY 9,230; Arnold et al. 1977).

Spawni- nq Larvae Most southern flounders spawn in late fall and early winter, but some In culture, yo1 k-sac larvae began spawn in early spring (Ginsburg 1952). metamorphosing to postlarvae at 40 to 46 days (8 to 11 mm long); In North Carolina, southern metamorphosis was complete by 50 flounders migrate out of estuaries in to 51 days (Arnold et a1 . 1977). fall to spawn (Hildebrand and Cable 1930). In Texas, they migrate from estuaries into the Gulf of Mexico from Juveniles and Adults October through December, apparently to spawn (Stokes 1977). Males move Post1arvae of southern flounder seaward earlier than females and few 18 to 34 nun in total length (TL) were remain in the estuaries after Novem- captured during February, March, and ber. This migration is usually pre- May at Gal veston Island, Texas (Arnold ceded by a drop in water temperature et al. 1960); fish 25 to 51 mm TL were of 4" to 5°C.. Southern flounders caught in Mississippi River passes are caught in gulf waters as deep as during spring (Kel 1ey 1955). 63 m. Southern flounder post1arvae are Females become sexual ly mature at caught along the Gulf of Mexico coast 2 years of age in Texas (Stokes 1977). during winter and early spring. In The youngest mature female southern Aransas Bay, Texas, the peak movement flounder in northern Florida was 4 of postlarvae flounders into estuaries years old (Hall 1979). Of the mature is in February, when water tempera- females collected in August, 8% of tures are between 16.0" and 16.2"C the 4-year-01 ds, 5% of the 5-year- (Stokes 1977). In Texas, Breuer olds, and 18% of the 6-year-olds were (1962) found postlarvae 35 to 50 mm TL developing eggs. in December.

Southern flounders in Texas were induced to spawn in the laboratory Juveniles are general ly col 1ected (Arnold et al. 1977). About three during spring, summer, and early fa1 1. Juveniles 50 to 100 mm TL were caught follows: 0-1, 79; 1-11, 70; 11-111, on the seaward beaches of islands in 49; 111-IV, 45; IV-V, 46; V-VI, 40; Louisiana in April (Gunter 1938), and VI-VII, 37; VII-XIII, 34; and VIII-IX, fish 34 to 57 rrm long were caught in 41 (Nall 1979). Except for ages liarsh areas of the Mobile Delta during VIII-IX, growth rate declined with an December and from February to April. increase in ages. Near the mouth of the Mississippi River, adults and juveniles were In Florida the fol lowing total captured during summer in addition to length ranges (to the nearest 1 mm) a few adults taken in winter (Kelley for each age were reported, I, 79; 11, 1965). Near Gal veston Island, Texas, 80-142; 111, 84-134; and IV, 170.0-215 a single juvenile was captured in (Nal 1 1979). In Mississippi, southern September (Arnold et al. 1960). flounders were larger at the same age Juveni les and adults were collected in increment than in Florida: 11, 230 mm; the Yobile Delta in water of 111, 340 mm; and IV, 480 mrn (Etzold salinities ranging from 0 to 22.2 and Christmas 1979). parts per thousand (ppt) (Swingle and aland 1974). FISHERY From April 1974 to February 1975, adult southern flounders migrated in Vost southern flounders caught shal low waters from the Gulf of Mexico for commercial sale in the Gulf of to Aransas Bay, Texas; the migrations Mexico are taken by shrimp trawlers. were complete by late June (Stokes All species of flounders caught in the 1977). Adult flounders live in Texas Gulf, among which the southern bays from June through November, in f 1ounder predominates, are combi ned in water with abundant smooth cordgrass the commercial fishery statistics. Of (Sparti na a1 terniflora) (Stokes 19 77). the com~nercially landed flounders in Alabama, 95% were caught by shrimp trawlers and the remainder by gigging GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS (Swi ngl e 1976). The commercial landings of flounders in the Gulf A von Bertalanffy growth model States declined from 1971 to 1981 for the southern flounder was also (Table 1). Landings in Alabama peaked calculated by Nall (1979): in 1972 (1,169,800 1b) and generally 0.0308 t-(1-0.8629) decreased to 1981 (585,192 1b). ' SLt = 1.461 [1-e I Louisiana landings peaked in 1972 (507,300 lb) and decreased sub- In this equation, SLt is standard stantially to 1981 (136,962 lb). The length (mm) at end of time period t landings in Mississippi decreased from and t is the time interval. This mode7 172,000 lb in 1971 to 28,615 lb in predTcted a maximum length (SL) of 1981. 1,461 rnm, but the largest southern flounder reported in the 1i terature Southern flounders are caught by was 762 mm (Ginsburg 1952). The model sport fishermen along the entire predicts a maximum age of 20 years. northern Gulf of Mexico, but infor- mation on the fishery is available Growth data on the southern only for Alabama and Mississippi. In flounder are available only from Mobile Bay and the nearby coastal Florida and Mississippi. Annual waters, flounder fishing is most growth increments in total length (to productive from piers (Wade 1977). the nearest 1 mm) for southern The cost of daily fishing trips on flounder in Florida, based on scale fishing piers in 1977 ranged from measurements and analysis of 177 fish $5.42 to $14.55. In 1969, in a 6- by age group and length (mm), were as non nth period in Biloxi Bay, Missis- Table 1. Commer$ial landing (hundreds of pounds) and dockside value (hundreds of do1 lars) of flounders in five States, 1971-81 .

Year Florida Texas A1 aba~na Louisiana Mississippi Total

Weight Value Weight Value Weight Value Weight Value Weight Value Weight Value

a ~~f~~~~tionsupplied by U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Center, Miami , Florida. sippi, southern flounders contributed more active at night (Dugas 1975). only 2.6% of the total sport catch. Catches were highest in October and A tag-recapture study of southern November and lowest in September flounders in Texas revealed that move- (Jackson 1972). ments between and within estuaries rarely exceeded 18 km (Stokes 1977). The time between release and recap- ECOLOGICAL ROLE ture ranged- from 3 to 212 days.

Food Habits ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS Small southern flounders eat a variety of invertebrates, but become Temperature piscivorous when they are about 200 mm long (TL). In Louisiana, adult Temperature influences the migra- southern flounders ate shrimp and fish tion of postlarval and adult southern (Reid et al. 1956). In a more de- flounders. Postlarval migration to tailed study in Louisiana, Fox and estuaries from offshore waters peaked White (1969) reported that striped when water temperatures were about mullet (Muqil cephalus) was the major 16°C (Stokes 1977). food item of southern flounders, fol lowed by fat sleepers (Dormi tator In Louisiana coastal waters, maculatus) and ( Anchoa). adult southern flounders have been The major foods (percent frequency of collected at temperatures ranging from occurrence in stomachs) were as 5" to 35°C. In Lakes Pontchartrain follows: striped mu1 let--57% in and Maurepas, they were collected at December-February; Anchoa sp.-- 30% in water temperatures of 15.0" to 35°C March-May; Call inectes sp.--6% in from February through September June-Auqust; and fat sleeper--30%, (Tarver and Savoie 1976). In Anchoa -sp. --4%, pal aemonetes- sp. --3%, Loui siana, southern flounders were and Penaeus sp.--3% in September- collected at temperatures of 5" to November. tat sleepers appeared in 35°C (Perret et a1. 1971). In another the diet in October but disappeared in Louisiana study, southern flounders 2 to 3 weeks. were caught in waters with a temperature range of 10" to 30°C; most In Texas, Stokes (1977) reported catches were made from May through that small flounders (10 to 150 mm August (Barrett et al. 1978). long) ate mostly invertebrates (95%), among which mysids were the most common (32%). Larger flounders Salinity (150 mm long) ate primarily fish, among which anchovies, Adult southern flounders have (Brevoortia sp. ), sciaenids, and been collected in waters with mwgi1sp.) were most common. salinities of 0 to 36 ppt (Christmas and Waller 1973; Perret and Cail louet 1974; Tarver and Savoie 1976; Stokes Behavior 1977; Barrett et al. 1978). In Mis- sissippi the largest catches of In a Louisiana study of day juveniles and young adults were at versus night trawling, 89% of southern salinities of 15 to 20 ppt (Christmas flounders were caught at night, ap- and Wal ler 1973). parently because they are more vul- nerable to trawling at night than A study of the effect of salinity during day1 ight (Dugas 1975). A tank on survival and growth of early post- study confined that flounders are larval southern flounders showed that survival was not affected by salini- fell below 3.7 mgll. No avoidance ties lower than 26 ppt (Deubler 1960). differences were noted at temperatures Growth, however, was faster at higher of 6.1°, 14.4O, or 25.3"C (Deubler and salinities. In North Carolina the Posner 1963). older postlarvae grew faster in water of low salinity (Stickney and White 1973), a1 though the differences in growth were not as clearcut as those Substrate of Deubler (1960). In Texas, older post1arvae may be more physiological ly Southern flounders apparently adapted to low salinities than younger show no preference for a particular postlarvae (Stokes 1977). Postlarvae type of bottom, though they rarely were not collected in water of low 1ive on hard bottoms (Ginsburg 1952). salinities (10 to 12 ppt) until March. In northeast Florida, Nall (1979) collected 152 flounders from mud bottoms and 25 from mud and sand Dissol ved Oxygen bottoms, but none from hard bottoms. In Florida Bay, southern flounders In a laboratory study, postlarval were collected over she1 1 and firm southern flounders attempted avoidance marl bottoms (Tabb and Manning when dissol ved oxygen concentrations 1961). LITERATURE CITED

Arnold, C.R., W.H. Bailey, T.D. lethostigma. Bull. Mar. Sci. Williams, A. Johnson, and J.L. Gulf Caribb. lO(3) :339-345. Lasswell. 1977. Laboratory spawning and larval rearing of Deubler, E.E., Jr., and G.S. Posner. red drum and southern flounder. 1963. Response of postlarval Proc. Annu. Conf. Southeast. f 1ounders , para1 ichthys Assoc. Fish Wildl. Comm. 31: --lethostigma, to watF of low 437-440. oxygen concentrations. Copeia 1963:312-317. Arnold, E.L., Jr., R.S. Wheeler, and K. N. Baxter. 1960. Observations Dugas, R.J. 1975. Variation in on fishes aod other biota of east day-night trawl catches in Ver- lagoon, Gal veston Island. U.S. milion Bay, Louisiana. La. Fish Wildl. Serv. Spec. Sci. Rep. Wildl. Fish. Tech. Bull. 14. Fish. 344. 30 pp. 13 PP. Barrett, B.B., J.L. Merrell, T.P. Morrison, M.C. Gillespie, E.J. Etzold, D.J., and J .Y. Christmas, eds. Ralph, and J.F. Burdon. 1978. A 1979. A Mississippi marine fin- study of Louisiana's major estua- fish management plan. Final ries and adjacent offshore report. Mississippi-A1 abama Sea waters. La. Dep. Wildl. Fish. Grant Consortium. MASGP-78-146. Tech. Bull. 27. 197pp. 36 PP.

Breuer, J.P. 1962. An ecological Fox, L.S., and C.G. White. 1969. survey of the lower Laguna Madre Feeding habits of the southern of Texas, 1953-1959. Publ. Inst. flounder, Paral ichthys letho- Mar. Sci. Univ. Tex. 8:153-183. stigma, in Barataria Bay, La. Proc. La. Acad. Sci. 32:31-38. Christmas, J.Y., and R.S. Waller. Ginsburg, I. 1952. Flounders of the 1973. Estuarine vertebrates, Mississippi. Pages 320-434 ma1ichthys and re1ated in genera in American waters. U.S. J .Y. Christmas, ed. Cooperative Fish Wildl. Serv. Fish. Bull. Gulf of IYexico estuarine inven- tory and study, Mississippi. 71:257-332. Gul f Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Miss. Gunter, G. 1938. Seasooal variations in abundance of certain estuarine Deubler, E.E., Jr. 1960. Salinity as and marine fishes in Louisiana, a factor in the control of growth with particular reference to life and survival of postlarvae of the histories. Ecol . Monogr. 8(3): southern flounder, Paral ichthys 315-346. Gutherz, E.J. 1967. Field guide to tory and study, Louisiana. Phase the of the family IVY Biology. La. Wildl. Fish. Bothidae in the western North Comm. pp. 35-63. Atlantic. U.S. Fish. Wildl. Serv. Circ. 263. 47 pp. Reid, G.K., Jr., A. Inglis, and H.D. 263. 41 pp. Hoese. 1956. Summer foods of some fish species. Southwest. Hildebrand, S.F., and L.E. Cable. Nat. l(3) :100-104. 1930. Development and life his- tory of fourteen teleostean Stickney, R.R., and D.B. White. 1973. fishes at Beaufort, N.C. Bull. ~ffectsof salinity on the growth U.S. Bur. Fish. 46:383-488. of Paral ichthys lethostigma post- larvae reared under aquacul ture Hoese, H.D., and R.H. Moore. 1977. conditions. Proc. 27th Annu. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Conf. Southeast. Assoc. Game Texas A&"lniversi ty Press, Fish Comm. 27:532-540. College Station. 327 pp. Stokes, G.M. 1977. Life history Jackson, G.A. 1972. A sport fishing studies of southern flounder survey of Biloxi Bay and the (ma1ich thys whostigma) and adjacent Mississippi Sound. M.S. gulf flounder (P. albigutta) in Thesis. Mississippi State Uni- the Aransas Bay area of Texas. versity, Mississippi State. Texas Parks ~ildl.Dep. Tech. 101 pp. Ser. 25. 37pp.

Kelley, J.R., Jr. 1965. A taxonomic Swingle, H.A., and D.G. Bland. 1974. survey of the fishes of Delta A study of the fishes of the National Wildlife Refuge with coastal watercourses of A1 abama . emphasis upon distribution and Ala. Mar. Resour. Bull. 10: abundance. M.S. Thesis. Louisi- 17-102. ana State University, Baton Rouge. 130 pp. Swingle, W.E. 1976. Analysis of commercial fisheries catch data Nall, L.E. 1979. Age and growth of for Alabama. Ala. Mar. Resour. the southern flounder (Paralich- Bull. 11:26-50. thys lethostigma) in the northern Gulf of Mexico with notes on Tabb, D.C., and R.B. Yanning. 1961. Paral ichthys a1 bigutta. M.S. The biota of Florida Bay. Bull. Thesi-- s.-~ Florida State Uni ver- Mar. Sci. Gulf Caribb. ll(4): sity, Tallahassee. 58 pp. 552-649.

Perret, W.S., and C.W. Caillouet, Jr. Tarver, J.W., and L.B. Savoie. 1976. 1974. Abundance and size of An inventory and study of the fishes taken by trawling in Lake Pontchartrain-Lake Maurepas Vermilion Bay, Louisiana. Bull. estuarine complex. Phase II- Mar. Sci . 24(1) :52-74. Biology. La. Wildl. Fish. Comm. Tech. Bull. 19:7-99. Perret, W.S., B.B. Barrett, W.R. Latapie, J.F. Pollard, W.R. Mock, Wade, C.W. 1977. Survey of the Ala- G.B. Adkins, W.J. Gaidry, and bama marine recreational fishery. C. J. White. 1971. Cooperative Ala. Mar. Resour. Bull. 12. Gulf of Mexico estuarine inven- 22 PP- 50272 -101 REPORT DOCUMENTATION .LREmRT *. 2. S. Rui~lenl'. Accesa PAGE . Biological Report 82(11.30)* 4. TltIe and Subtitle 5. Report Date Species Profiles: Li fe Hi stories and Environmental Requirements Apri 1 1985 of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (Gulf of Mexico) -- Southern P r .- --- - . ------. 7. Author(.) 8. Performing Omani Roland E. Reagan, Jr. and William M. Wingo

------.- -- ~ 9. Performing organization Name and Address MS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit .- -- - - P.O. Drawer BX 11. Contrsct(C) or Gr Mississippi State University (c) ili ssissippi State, MS 39 762-5603 (G) -. - 13. Tyw of Report b National Coastal Ecosystems Team U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Division of Biological Services Nater\,,ays txperirnent Station . - .------P.O. Box 631 14. Vicksburg, MS 39180

I*u.s. Army Corps of Engineers Report No. TR EL-82-4

16. Abstract (Limit: 200 words)

Species profiles are 1i terature summaries of the taxonomy, morphology, range, ' and envi I-onmental requi rements of coastal nguati c species. They are designed environrnental impact assessment. Southern flounder is an estuarine dependent r lives its entire life in or near estuaries. The southern flounder migrates ou' estuary into the Gulf of Mexico to spawn in October through February. Larvae i juveniles usual ly live in estuarine areas, but some juveniles live in nearshor~ the Gulf of Mexico. The species has a maximum age of 10 years. Southern flou~ caught commercially by shrimp trawlers and a few are caught by gigging. Com~ne~ landings (1971-81) have ranged from 1,169,800 to 28,615 1b. There are no data catches of the species. Population dynamics data on the species are weak. La1 juvenile flounders eat invertebrates. Adults eat a variety of fish and shrimp southern flounder have been callght in water with temperatures of 5" to 35OC. has been caught in water at salinities of 0-36 ppt. Southern flounder prefer I over other types.

--P-~-P Estuaries Fishes Growth Feedi ng

1 b. IdentifierslOpen-Ended Terms I Southern Flounder Li fe history Para1 ichthys 1ethostigma Spawni ng Temperature requi rements Habi tat requi rernents

c. COSATl FieldlGroup

~ v"r=(This Report) - -T2= Unl ini ted Udassified-.- 20. Secur~tyClass (This Pane) Unclassified- (See ANSI-239.18) OPTlO (Forms Deparl REGION 1 REGION 2 REGION 3 Regional Director Regional Director Regional Director U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lloyd Five Hundred Building, Suite 1692 P.O. Box 1306 Federal Building, Fort Snelling 500 N.E. Multnornah Street Albuquerque, New Mexico 87 103 Twin Cities, Minnesota 55 1 1 1 Portland, Oregon 97232

REGION 4 REGION 5 REGION 6 Regional Director Regional Director Regional Director U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Richard B. Russell Building One Gateway Center P.O. Box 25486 75 Spring Street, S.W. Newton Corner, Massachusetts 02158 Denver Federal Center Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Denver, Colorado 80225

REGION 7 Regional Director U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 101 1 E. Tudor Road Anchorage, Alaska 99503 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U.S. FISH AID WILDLIFE SERVICE

As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has respon- sibility for most of our,nationally owned public lands and natural resources. This includes fostering the wisest use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife, preserving theenvironmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places, and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Department as- sesses our energy and mineral resources and works to assure that their development is in the best interests of all our people. The Department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in island territories under U.S. administration.