Distribution and Abundance of Flatfishes in Wylly Creek, Georgia

Several species of flatfishes use estuarine creeks and tidal flats as nurseries and settlement areas in coastal Georgia.  Temperature and seasonal changes may play a crucial role in the selection of these habitats.  The purpose of the present study was to investigate the use of a shallow estuarine creek by flatfishes to determine whether species composition and abundance varied with season or year.  Monthly samples were collected between January 2004 and February 2011 in Wylly Creek (31°59’52”N, 81°03’18”W), a shallow estuarine tributary of the Herb River in Savannah, Georgia.  Tows were conducted during ebbing tide using a 1 meter-wide beam trawl with a 3 millimeter mesh net.  Beginning at the mouth of the creek, 3 hauls were made upstream for 2 minutes at idle speed.  Water temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen levels were obtained using a YSI 85 instrument.  Flatfishes were identified to species and measured for total length (TL) to the nearest millimeter on a fish board.  To ensure proper identification, select individuals were preserved in a solution of Formalin.  The mean number of individuals collected per tow was calculated and then compared by month and season.  The bay whiff Citharichthys spilopterus were collected most often during winter when fish lengths were the shortest (6.02 ± 6.92 CPUE; 18.16 ± 0.45 mm) and least often during fall when fish lengths were the longest (0.57 ± 0.87 CPUE; 81.93 ± 5.30 mm).  The blackcheek tonguefish Symphurus plagiusa were collected most often during summer (4.03 ± 1.87 CPUE) and least often during fall (0.93 ± 0.87 CPUE), with no significant differences in fish length by season.  The summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus were collected mostly during spring (2.32 ± 4.46 CPUE). Fish lengths were shortest in winter (30.8 ± 1.7 mm) and longest during fall (98 ± 16.3 mm).  The southern flounder Paralichthys lethostigma were collected mostly during spring (1.43 ± 1.82 CPUE).  Fish lengths were shortest during winter (27.1 ± 2.8 mm) and longest during fall (171 mm).  The fringed flounder Etropus crossotus were collected more often during summer (1.07 ± 0.91 CPUE).  Differences in fish length by season were not significant.  It is clear that different species utilize this creek during different seasons.  In addition, bay whiff may use Wylly Creek as a nursery beginning in early winter.