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Recruitment Patterns of Early Juvenile Red Drum

Gregory Stunz and Thomas Minello

Red drum occur in the Western Atlantic and throughout the Gulf of Mexico, and support an important recreational fishery. Red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, spawn in early Fall near passes and inlets, where eggs, larvae, and early juveniles are carried by currents into shallow estuaries and bays. Following a short pelagic stage, individuals often settle into seagrass habitats. Due to various antropogenic effects, many estuarine areas have suffered extensive loss of seagrasses, as has the Galveston Bay system on the Texas Gulf Coast since the 1970's. Nevertheless, Galveston Bay, as well as many other areas lacking seagrass cover, support large populations of red drum. In the absence of seagrass, it is unclear which habitats are used by newly recruited red drum. Determining the details of habitat use is critical to understanding recruitment and population dynamics of this important estuarine dependent species.

Skiff and collectors sampling the edge of a salt marsh during winter; marsh grass in foreground is brown.
The edge of the saltmarsh vegetation appears to harbor significantly more young sports fish than does the open water area

It is our goal to examine and define potential nursery habitats, such as marsh, non-vegetated bottom, tidal creeks, and oyster reefs, for red drum in Galveston Bay. Sampling during the Fall recruitment period in these habitats using a drop sampler and epi-benthic sleds, has shown the highest densities of red drum occur in seagrass meadows. However, when seagrass is absent, we find the highest densities of red drum along the marsh-edge interface.