The use of egg staging to define spatial and temporal trends of early life stage winter flounder habitat use in New York/New Jersey Harbor

The New York/New Jersey Harbor estuary is an important habitat complex set within one of the most intensively urbanized corridors in the United States. Despite significant habitat modification and loss, the estuary continues to be home to nearly 100 species of fish including winter flounder. Sampling sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has included the use of epibenthic sled and bottom trawl tows to sample early life stage to adult winter flounder. Observed catch patterns within the 10-year dataset indicate that this species uses specific areas of the harbor as spawning and nursery habitat. To further define these patterns, an innovative sequential staging method was designed based upon winter flounder egg development described by Martin and Drewry (1978). The staging of eggs enables one to distinguish between eggs recently deposited from those that are more developed, which may have moved from the site of their deposition.