Comparison of Biological Abundances in Three Adjacent Bay Systems Downstream from the Golden Gate Estates Canal System

摘要

Estuaries provide nursery habitat for recreationally and commercially important fish and shellfish and their prey species. Studies that relate species abundances to habitat characteristics and environmental variables and that evaluate the effect on habitat of man made changes lay the foundation for legislation and management to protect estuaries. In the report the authors present results of a study to evaluate the effect of channeling the drainage from a 600-km wetland known as Golden Gate Estates into a small embayment, Faka Union Bay, which is a part of the Ten Thousand Islands area of coastal southwest Florida.