FSU/NMFS Institute for Fishery Resource Ecology

CHECK OUT NEW ITEMS

• Internships for Summer 2000
• Certificate Program in Living Marine Resource Ecology
• Third Mote International Symposium in Fisheries Ecology
• New Mote Eminent Scholar

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Graduate Education
  
• Undergraduate Education
  
  • Internships for Summer 2000
    
  • Past Internships
    
  • Minority recruitment
    
• Saturday-at-the-Sea Outreach Education Program
  

Because of the scope and complexity of the natural processes and human activities that interact to control population dynamics of species in marine ecosystems, the need for research is substantial and will be long enduring. A collaborative program between academic and fishery scientists provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of marine organisms, enhancing significantly our ability to understand these processes and, as a result, enhancing the conservation and management of marine resources by state and federal agencies. To this end, the FSU/NMFS Institute for Fishery Resource Ecology (IFRE) was established in May 1995 under a Cooperative Agreement between the Florida State University (FSU) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and was approved as a Type IV institute by the Florida Board of Regents on 26 June 1995. IFRE serves as a vehicle to combine university and agency expertise to address marine resource issues of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico that affect Florida, the southeastern United States, and the rest of the nation.

The defined purposes of IFRE are:

• to coordinate and facilitate existing research of mutual interest to FSU and NOAA in basic and applied marine science, technology, policy, and resources, particularly as they relate to fisheries in the northern Gulf of Mexico;
• to stimulate the training of scientists in the discipline of fishery science; and
• to disseminate research findings to the public; to local, state, and federal officials, and to other interested parties by a variety of methods, including peer-reviewed and lay publications, seminars, and workshops.

Florida State University's Department of Biological Science emphasis in fishery ecology within the area of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology currently has three graduate students funded through IFRE, provided hands-on internship opportunities for five undergraduate students, and outreach education primarily for middle school students. One of IFRE's longer-term objectives is to seek and develop an annual funding base from FSU, from NOAA/NMFS, and from private sources.

Reef fish

"Jewfish, Epinephelus itajara, a protected species in U.S. waters"

Members of this complex of fishes appear to be particularly at risk for overexploitation. In the southeastern United States alone, for example, species currently either overfished or in danger of being so (according to the National Marine Fisheries Service) include red porgy (Pagrus pagrus), black sea bass (Centropristis striata), gag (Mycteroperca microlepis), scamp (M. phenax), snowy grouper (Epinephelus niveatus), Warsaw grouper (E. nigritus), Nassau grouper (E. striatus), speckled hind (E. drummondhayi), jewfish (E. itajara), red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus), vermilion snapper (Rhomboplites aurorubens), white grunt (Haemulon plumeri), and golden tilefish (Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps). Jewfish and Nassau grouper have been so heavily overfished that they are protected and are candidates for the endangered species list. Warsaw grouper and speckled hind may soon follow. The economic value of this species complex--1996 landings in the Gulf of Mexico of roughly 16 million pounds, an ex-vessel value near $36 million--makes protecting the sustainability of the fishery a critical consideration for this region.

In recent years, several fishery controversies have pushed management decisions ahead of completed assessment--e.g., the closure of the EEZ to red drum harvest, the closure of the EE and state waters to jewfish harvest, and the Florida net ban. Habitat concerns and increasing commercial and recreational harvest of reef species will necessitate new management approaches such as marine reserves--replenishment zones that serve to protect critical juvenile and/or spawning habitat. In other alternative management approaches, harvest quotas will need to be based on multispecies analyses of fishing mortality, as the reef-fish fishery in general is nonselective. The use of spawning stock biomass per recruit assessment will need to be adjusted to accommodate the idiosyncrasies of protogynous species. Accurate forecasting of stock dynamics will require estimation of variability from prerecruit surveys. These types of management approaches will in turn depend upon information on reproduction and recruitment patterns. Therefore major products of the collaborative work proposed by IFRE will include an assessment of annual variation in reproductive characteristics (ovarian atresia rates, spawning frequency, and batch fecundity), estimation of recruitment variability and fishery forecasting based on juvenile abundance patterns and a preliminary biophysical model of transport and early growth and survival of selected reef-fish species. IFRE's approach will be to focus on the major phases in reef-fish life history--reproductive, larval, and juvenile phases--where recruitment variation has the greatest role in affecting year-class strength, providing the mechanism to ensure collaborative interaction between NMFS and FSU scientists, as well as other university personnel.

Habitat

Of the ten dominant fishery species of groupers (red grouper, gag, black grouper, scamp, black sea bass) and snappers (red snapper, vermilion snapper, yellowtail snapper, gray snapper, lane snapper), eight spend their juvenile phase exclusively in estuarine habitat--primarily associated with sea-grass beds--that is critical to their early development. Thus, the characteristic life history pattern of these species in the eastern Gulf of Mexico includes spawning on offshore shelf-edge reefs and early development in sea-grass beds.

Because nearly all of the sea grass in the Gulf of Mexico occurs on the west coast of Florida (roughly 80% or 8,000 km²), this area is the single most highly productive area for reef-fish recruitment in the entire region. However, these valuable fishery species and the fisheries ecosystem that produces them are virtually unstudied with respect to spawning habitat distribution, larval transport processes, sea-grass recruitment and survival patterns, distribution and suitability of sea-grass nursery habitat, recruitment of offshore stocks, and movement and migration pattern of adult stocks.

Given that the abundance of economically important species is closely tied to habitat (e.g., sea grass, mangrove, coral reef), it is clear that identifying criteria that are reliable indicators of habitat quality and using these criteria in maintaining habitat quality are crucial to managing the economically important fisheries. IFRE researchers are examining habitat relationships in sea-grass beds of the west Florida shelf, in fragile Oculina coral reefs in the Research Reserve off Ft. Pierce, Florida, and in mangrove swamps of coastal south Florida. These studies are particularly important because of the emphasis in the revised Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which calls for descriptions of essential fish habitat for all managed species.

Marine Reserves

Current management practices for reef-fish fisheries have proved largely ineffective. This failure has spurred considerable interest in the use of harvest refuges as an alternative management strategy. IFRE researchers are conducting research to evaluate their effectiveness as a management tool in both the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. What we want to know is how they might contribute to fisheries production in both recruitment and adult spillover into other regions. To find out, we are combining physical oceanographic data and geological surveys with biological information on spawning locations, habitat conditions, and plankton productivity to determine the most appropriate sites for designation as reserves.

Current Projects

IFRE 4. Site mapping, site selection, and efficacy of marine reserves in the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic as well as studies of the coral restoration in the Experimental Oculina Research Reserve. NMFS NURP Wilmington. C. Koenig, G. Fitzhugh, C. Grimes, F. Coleman. More information.

IFRE 5. Application of remote sensing/GIS to conservation of marine resources. NMFS Base funding. PI: Lyman Barger. More information.

IFRE 6. Age and growth of reef fish. NMFS Base funding. G. Fitzhugh. More information.

IFRE 7. Reef fish reproduction. NMFS Base funding. A. Collins. More information.

IFRE 8. The structure, function, and timing of jewfish (Epinephelus itajara) spawning in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. NMFS Endangered Species. C. Koenig, F. Coleman, A. Eklund. More information.

IFRE 9. Past and present trophic structure of Florida Bay sea-grass communities and the relationship to associated coastal fisheries: diet and stable isotope analyses. NMFS, Coastal Oceans Program. J. P. Chanton (FSU Department of Oceanography), C. C. Koenig (FSU Department of Biological Science). More information.

IFRE 11. Distribution and abundance indexing of juvenile and adult sharks in northeastern Gulf of Mexico coastal habitats. NMFS Highly Migratory Species. E. Cortés, J. K. Carlson, L. Trent. More information.

IFRE 12. Spawning-to-nursery connection for gag grouper: tests of mechanisms to explain sea-grass recruitment patterns. MARFIN/NMFS. 1997-1999. G. R. Fitzhugh, C. Koenig, F. Coleman, W. Sturges. More information.

Past Projects

IFRE 1. Florida inshore bait shrimping: experimental analysis of bycatch exclusion efficiencies of roller-frame trawls and capture-related mortality of selected sea-grass-associated finfish species. Funded by MARFIN. F. Coleman, C. Koenig. More information.

IFRE 2. Recruitment indices and sea-grass habitat relationships of the early juvenile stages of gag grouper, gray snapper, and other economically important reef fishes in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. FSU. Funded by MARFIN. F. Coleman, C. Koenig. More information.

IFRE 3. Seagrass habitat quality: criteria for the management of economically important finfishes of the northwest coast of Florida. FSU. Funded by Florida Department of Environmental Protection. M. Ruckelshaus, F. Coleman. More information.

IFRE 10. Comparative life history of paralichthid flounders in NW Florida and assessment of fishery-independent monitoring methods. Florida Department of Environmental Protection. G. Fitzhugh, L. Trent, W. Fable, A. Strelchek. More information.

Graduate Education

The Department of Biological Science, particularly in the area of ecology, evolution, and organismal biology, has developed a new emphasis in Fishery Ecology. The Graduate Degree in Biological Science with an Emphasis in Fishery Ecology program was first implemented in the fall semester of 1995. The IFRE currently funds two graduate students. The graduate projects include

• A focus on the effects of fishing on the mating system and reproductive life-history characteristics of a protogynous hermaphroditic fish that compares the heavily exploited Atlantic and lightly exploited Gulf populations of red porgy, Pagrus pagrus.

• a general examination of temporal and spatial variation in recruitment patterns of lane snapper, Lutjanus synagris, along the west Florida shelf with more detailed investigations of oceanographic processes involved in advection of larvae from pelagic spawning grounds to estuarine nursery areas and the role of habitat quality in juvenile stocking density of estuarine nursery areas.

Internships

Each student is given the opportunity to participate in general project activities at FSU, at the NMFS Laboratory, or, through the William R. and Lenore Mote Fishery Ecology Internship, at the Mote Marine Laboratory while performing a discrete task that forms some component of the mentor's ongoing studies. Each is expected to complete the project independently, perform data analyses, and write a report that is turned in to the mentor and the student's FSU advisor. Students can receive up to nine (9) credit hours, equivalent to a full summer-semester load, by committing to a minimum of 25 hours per week for 13 weeks (a total of 325 hours) of laboratory and/or field work.

Previous internship projects conducted by upper-level undergraduate students include:

1998

• Otolith-fish size relationships in juvenile gag grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis) of the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Conducted at NMFS Panama City by Andy Strelchuk.

• Age, growth, and feeding ecology of coastal shark populations. Conducted at NMFS Panama City by FSU student Laetitia Mourand.

• Toxic effects of toadfish on other seagrass-associated finfish species. Conducted at NMFS Panama City by FSU student Stacey Harter.

• Stock enhancement of snook. Conducted at Mote Marine Laboratory by FSU student Kathleen O'Malley.

• Spawning frequency in vermilion snapper. Conducted at NMFS Panama City Laboratory by Florida A & M University student Syretta Montgomery.

• Age and growth and feeding ecology in coastal shark populations. Conducted at NMFS Panama City Laboratory by University of Wisconsin student Joan Backey.

New  Internship Description

Minority

Minority students are encouraged to participate in the internship program since they are grossly underrepresented among students who commit themselves to careers as research scientists. The NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center (Miami, Florida) has a partnership with Florida A&M University  (FAMU, Tallahassee, Florida) to increase minority student participation in the marine and environmental science professions at the undergraduate and graduate levels, a cooperative arrangement/partnership now linked with IFRE. FAMU is an excellent partner for this endeavor; last year it enrolled more black National Merit Scholars than any other institution in the United States. The Program, with its variety of intensive interactions, will provide the personal mentorship that is critical to guide students of any type into research careers. Program success is evaluated by following the post-graduation trajectories of the students and a series of cohorts matched for background and prior achievement levels.

· SATS Treasure Chest, an activity set sent to local middle schools that allows teachers to weave information about coastal resources into their students' language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science classes.

· Sea-to-See, a program for elementary school children in which SATS instructors take living marine organisms to the school for a full day of hour-long presentations on the importance of habitat to a marine animal’s life history, and a brainstorming session on how students can help care for the marine environment. The program has been enormously successful, with the potential to reach 6 000 students each school year.

· Saturday-at-the-Sea Summer Camp, a week-long immersion program for high school students (those entering 9th and 10th grades), which involves field and laboratory exercises, development of research questions and experimental design, and data collection on the distribution and abundance of marine organisms in seagrass beds. The program concludes with data analysis, a discussion of conclusions, report writing, and oral presentations made to parents and university researchers.

· Teacher Education Programs, which include either two-day or seven-day workshops. The two-day workshop introduces teachers to SATS and instructs them in the use of the Treasure Chests as curriculum resources. The 7 day program introduces teachers to research in the coastal environment, allowing them to participate in both group and individual research projects designed to help them understand the value of using authentic research techniques with their students.

Members of IFRE make themselves available for a variety of public services, including editorial services for peer-reviewed journals (Travis, Coleman, Koenig, Grimes, Fitzhugh, Cortes) and advisors on state and federal committees associated with fisheries research and management, including the NMFS Ecosystem Advisory Panel (Coleman) and, for the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, the Standing Scientific Committee (Grimes), the Stock Assessment Panel for Reef Fish (Koenig), the Standing Scientific Committee for Reef Fish (Fitzhugh), ad hoc marine reserves committee (Levitan, Koenig), as well as one voting member on the council proper (Coleman). For the Mote Eminent Scholar Chair , members served on the search committee for the scholar and the steering committee for the Mote International Symposium (Travis, Herrnkind, Coleman, Koenig, Grimes). Cortés served as co-organizer and co-Chairman of the international symposium on "Feeding Biology of Elasmobranch Fishes", held at the ASIH/AES Joint Meetings in Guelph, Canada, 19 July 1998.

Table of Contents

Carlson, J. K., and G. R. Parsons. 1997. Age and growth of the bonnethead shark, Sphyrna tiburo, from northwest Florida, with comments on clinal variation. Environ. Biol. Fishes 50:331-341.

Carlson, J. K., and G. R. Parsons. 1998. Physiological and behavioral responses to hypoxia in the bonnethead shark, Sphyrna tiburo: routine swimming and respiratory regulation Fish Physiol. Biochem. 19,189-196.

Carlson, J. K., T. A. Randall, and M. E. Mroczka. 1997. Feeding habits of winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus) in a habitat exposed to anthropogenic disturbance. J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci. 21:65-73

Coleman, F. C., J. Travis. 1998. Abundance & dispersion of the trematode Ascocotyle pachycystis in their intermediate hosts, Cyprinodon variegatus. Envir. Biol. Fishes 51(1): 87-96.

Colin, P. L., C. C. Koenig, and W. A. Laroche. 1996. Development from eggs to juvenile of the red grouper (Epinephelus morio) (Pisces: Serranidae) in the laboratory. In: F. Arreguin-Sanchez, J. L. Munro, M. C. Balgos and D. Pauly (eds.) Biology, fisheries and culture of tropical groupers and snappers. ICLARM Conf. Proc. 48:399-414.

Collins, L. A., A. G. Johnson, and C. P. Keim. 1996. Spawning and annual fecundity of the red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) from the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. In: F. Arreguin-Sanchez, J. L. Munro, M. C. Balgos and D. Pauly (eds.) Biology, fisheries and culture of tropical groupers and snappers. ICLARM Conf. Proc. 48:174-188.

Collins, L. A., A. G. Johnson, C. C. Koenig, and M. S. Baker, Jr. 1998. Reproductive patterns, sex ratio, and fecundity in gag, Mycteroperca microlepis (Serranidae), a protogynous grouper in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Fish. Bull. 96(3):415-427.

Devries, D. A., and C. B. Grimes. 1997. Spatial and temporal variation in age and growth of king mackerel, Scomberomorus cavalla, 1977-1992. Fish. Bull. 95(4):694-708.

Domeier, M. L., C. C. Koenig, and F. C. Coleman. 1996. Reproductive biology of the gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus), with notes on spawning for other western Atlantic snappers (Lutjanidae). In: F. Arreguin-Sanchez, J. L. Munro, M. C. Balgos and D. Pauly (eds.) Biology, fisheries and culture of tropical groupers and snappers. ICLARM Conf. Proc. 48:189-201.

Fitzhugh, G. R., S. W. Nixon, D. W. Ahrenholz, and J.A. Rice. 1997. Temperature effects on otolith microstructure and birth month estimation from otolith increment patterns in Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus). Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 126, 579-593.

Grimes, C. B. 1997. Distribution, abundance, feeding growth and mortality of fish larvae associated with the Mississippi River discharge plume, and the potential impacts of hypoxia. p. 76-86 In: Proceedings of the First Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Management Conference, December 5-6, 1995, Kenner, La.

Johnson, A. G., M. S. Baker, Jr., and L. A. Collins. 1997 Magnitude and composition of undersized grouper bycatch. Proc. Gulf Caribb. Fish. Inst. 49.,161-172.

Johnson, A. G., L. A. Collins, M. S. Baker and J. E. Dahl. 1995. Age, growth and mortality of lane snapper from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Proc. Annu. Conf. SE Assoc. Fish Wildl. Agencies 49,178-186.

Johnson, A. G., and C. C. Koenig. Age and size-structure of the fishery and juvenile abundances of gag (Mycteroperca microlepis) from the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, 47th Meeting.

Johnson, AG., L. A. Collins, C. P. Keim. 1994. Age, size structure of grey snapper from the southeastern United States: a comparison of two methods of back-calculating size at age from otolith data. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Biloxi, MS 48,592-600.

Koenig, C. C., and F. C. Coleman. 1998. Absolute abundance and survival of juvenile gag, Mycteroperca microlepis, in seagrass beds of the N.E. Gulf of Mexico. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 127(1), 44-55.

Travis, J., F. C. Coleman, C. B. Grimes. 1998. Critically assessing stock enhancement: an introduction to the Mote symposium. Bull. Mar. Sci. 62(2), 305-311.

Trent, L., D. E. Parshley, and J. K. Carlson. 1997. Catch and bycatch in the shark drift gillnet fishery off Georgia and east Florida. Mar. Fish. Rev. 59(1):19-28.

In Press

Allman, R. J., and C. B. Grimes. Growth and mortality of litte tunny (Euthynnus alleteratus) larvae off the Mississippi River plume and Panama City, Florida. Bull. Mar. Sci.

Carlson, J. K. Occurrence of neonate and juvenile sandbar sharks, Carcharhinus plumbeus, from the northeast Gulf of Mexico. Fish. Bull.

Castillo, J. L., Márquez, F., Rodriguez de la Cruz, M. C., Cortés, E., and A. Cid. The Mexican artisanal shark fishery in the Gulf of Mexico: toward a regulated fishery. Marine and Freshwater Research 49.

Carlson, J. K., C. L. Palmer, and G. R. Parsons. Oxygen consumption rate and swimming efficiency of the blacknose shark, Carcharhinus acronotus. Copeia.

Coleman, F.C., C. C. Koenig, A.M. Eklund, C.B. Grimes. In press. Management and conservation of temperate reef fishes in the grouper-snapper complex of the southeastern United States. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc.

Colin, P. L. and C. C. Koenig. Development and function of the spines in larval red grouper, Epinephelus morio, reared in the laboratory. Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, Vol. 44.

Cortés, E. A stochastic stage-based population model of the sandbar shark in the western North Atlantic. In: Ecology and Conservation of Long-Lived Marine Animals.

Cortés, E. Reply: Methods of studying fish feeding. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

Heinisch, B. C., and W. A. Fable, Jr. Movement of gag, Mycterperca microlepis, in and from St. Andrew Bay, Florida. Bull. Mar. Sci.

Randall, T. A., J. K. Carlson, and M. E. Mroczka. Distribution and density of submergent aquatic vegetation beds in a Connecticut harbor. Rhodora.

In Review

Cortés, E. Standardized diet compositions and trophic levels of sharks. ICES Journal of Marine Science.

Carlson, J. K., Cortés, E., and A. G. Johnson. Age and growth of the blacknose shark archarhinus acronotus from the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Copeia.

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REPORTS

Coleman, F. C., and C. C. Koenig. 1998. Florida inshore bait shrimping: experimental analysis of bycatch and capture-related mortality of selected seagrass-associated finfish species. Final Report. NMFS MARFIN 94MF004-G(SB).

DeVries, D. A., C. D. Bedee, C. L. Palmer, and S.A. Bortone. 1997. Age, growth, maturity, and size composition of spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, in the panhandle region of Florida. Final Report for Fla. Dep. Environ. Prot., Marine Resources Grants MR019 and MR024, 40 p.

Johnson, A. G. 1997. Age and growth of gag, red grouper and four snappers in the Gulf of Mexico. Marfin Project Report, FY 97, unpaged.

Koenig, C. C., F. Coleman, and A. M. Eklund. 1997. Studies of the jewfish (Epinephelus itajara) in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Final Report. Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation.

Shaffer, R. N. 1997. A summary of the essential fisheries habitat information for eight species of fishes from the Gulf of Mexico. Panama City Lab. Contrib. 97-9, 27 p.

Trent, L. 1998. Abundance and size of gulf (Paralichthys albigutta) and southern (P. lethostigma) flounders during fall movements in St. Andrew Bay, Florida, 1979-1984. Panama City Lab. Contrib. 98-1, 17 p. + figures and tables.

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PRESENTATIONS

Allman, R. J., C. B. Grimes, C. C. Koenig and F. C. Coleman. The temporal and spatial dynamics of spawning, settlement and growth of gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) determined using otolith microstructure. Florida Chapter of the American Fisheries Society 18th annual meeting, Brooksville, Florida. March 12, 1998.

Allman, R. J., C. B. Grimes, C. C. Koenig and F. C. Coleman. Temporal and spatial dynamics of spawning, settlement and growth of juvenile gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) determined using otolith microstructure. Second international symposium on fish otolith research and application, Bergen, Norway June 1998.

Carlson, J. K., and E. Cortés. 1998. Age and growth of the blacknose shark, Carcharhinus acronotus, in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. 128th Meeting of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), Hartford, Connecticut, 23-27 August (poster).

Carlson, J. K., T. A. Randall, and M. E. Mroczka. Feeding habits of winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus) in a community exposed to anthropogenic disturbance. 14th Biennial Estuarine Research Federation International Conference, Oct. 12-16, 1997, Providence, RI.

Coleman, F. C. 1997. International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), Baltimore, MD.

Coleman, F. C. 1997. Tulane University, Law School. New Orleans. Invited speaker.

Coleman, F. C. 1997. South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council. Charleston, SC. Invited speaker

Coleman, F. C. 1998. American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Hartford, CT. Research in the Oculina Experimental Reserve

Coleman, F. C. 1998. Environmental Defense Fund, Board of Trustees, Washington D.C. Invited Speaker. Topic: marine reserves and fishery management

Coleman, F. C. 1998. Center for Marine Conservation, Workshop for the Citizen Conservationist, St. Augustine, Florida. Invited speaker. Topic: marine reserves and public outreach.

Coleman, F. C. 1998. South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council, St. Augustine FL. Invited speaker. Topic: Marine reserve goals.

Coleman, F. C. 1998. Sierra Club. Fisheries Management in the Gulf of Mexico with Special Consideration of Marine Reserves. Tallahassee, Florida.

Cortes, E. 1997. Northwest Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea Regional Strategy Development Workshop for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, Florida, 4-5 December.

Cortés, E. 1998. Standardized diet compositions and trophic levels of sharks. 78th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH), 14th Annual Meeting of the American Elasmobranch Society (AES), Guelph, Canada, July 16-July 23 (abstract, presentation).

Cortes, E. 1998. Life history strategies and population dynamics of sharks. Invited Seminar, Florida State University, Tallahassee

David, A. W., C. B. Grimes, C. C. Koenig, and F.C. Coleman. Latitudinal variation in life history traits of lane snapper, Lutjanus synagris, along the west Florida shelf. 18th Annual Meeting, Florida Chapter, American Fisheries Society, March 10-12, 1998, Brooksville, Florida.

DeVries, D. A., and C. B. Grimes. Using otolith shape analysis to distinguish eastern Gulf of Mexico from Atlantic Ocean stock king mackerel Scomberomorus cavalla. 18th Annual Meeting, Florida Chapter, American Fisheries Society, March 10-12, 1998, Brooksville, Florida.

DeVries, D. A., and C. B. Grimes. Using otolith shape analysis to distinguish eastern Gulf of Mexico from Atlantic Ocean stock king mackerel Scomberomorus cavalla. 2d. Intl. Symposium on Fish Otolith Research and Application, June 20-25, 1998, Bergen, Norway.

Fitzhugh, G. R., C. B. Grimes, C. C. Koenig, and F.C. Coleman. Hypothesis explaining differences in settlement dates of gag, Mycteroperca microlepis, along the west Florida shelf; larval transport or habitat limitation. ICES International Symposium: Recruitment Dynamics of Exploited Marine Populations: Physical-Biological Interactions, Sept. 22-24, 1997, Baltimore, Md.

Fitzhugh, G. R., C. C. Koenig, C. Gledhill, M. A. Grace, K. Scanlon, C. B. Grimes and F.C. Coleman. 1997. Fishery habitat along the outer west Florida shelf and importance to conservation of grouper/snapper stocks. MMS Gulf Information Transfer Meeting, New Orleans, 1997.

Grimes, C. B., and M. Grace. Habitat restoration in the Oculina Reserve and survey of snapper/grouper spawning aggregations and associated habitats on the west Florida shelf. Tenth Annual MARFIN Conference, Dec. 10-11, 1997.

Johnson, A. G. (L. . Collins, presenter). Age and growth of gag, red grouper and four snappers in the Gulf of Mexico. Tenth Annual MARFIN Conference, Dec. 10-11, 1997.

Koenig, C. C., F. C. Coleman, A. M. Eklund, and C. B. Grimes. 1997. Management and conservation of temperate reef species of the southeastern United States. Amer. Fish. Soc. Natl. Meeting, Monterey, CA.

Koenig, C. C. 1997. Marine Fishery Reserves: imperative for the management of the gag grouper fishery of the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Invited talk, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.

Koenig, C. C. 1997. Approaches to the restoration of a deep water population of the habitat structuring coral, Oculina varicosa, in the Oculina Research Reserve off Ft. Pierce, Florida, U. S. A. Invited talk, New Caldeonia. Benthic Marine Habitats Meeting.

Trent, L., J. K. Lacey, and J. Brusher. Evaluation of charterboat fishing effort in northwest Florida during 1990-1995 based on volunteered logbook data. Recreational Fishing Survey Workshop, July 21, 1997, New Orleans, La.

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