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Collecting in Georges' Aftermath



I went to the Alabama Gulf coast this past weekend to hepl my family do
some minor repairs to our beach house.  On my way back to school, I took
the causeway over Mobile Bay.  As I was driving, I noticed many pools and
filled ditches left by Hurricane Georges.  Since I keep a dip net and
plastic bags in my trunk, I decided to stop and explore.

I found a lot of fish in the isolated pools left by the hurricane's
receeding flood waters.  I collected:
Fundulus chrysotus
*Fundulus notti?
Lucania parva
Gambusia affinis
Micropterus salmoides
Lepomis Humilis
Lepomin microlophus


I'm not sure about the identity of my "F. notti".  I only collected 2, and
neither has any vertical barring.  Is this sexual dimorphism? Regional
difference?  Ironically, nobody at the ichthyology lab where I work
can help me; they only deal with preserved specimens, and I don't
want to sacrifice either of them.  Also, I caught hundreds of small shrimp
about 1" long. This was apparently the adult size as some of the females
werecarrying eggs. They were the perfect size to use as live food for many
sunfish species.

I found that the fishing was a lot easier on Sunday than on Friday, as the
pools had evaporated to about 1/3 of their size.  I doubt if they are
still there, but I assume that the same fish would be swimming in the bay
itself

Any comments?

David


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