Abstract
We studied the vagile epibenthic and nektonic macrofauna and hydrographic environments of the Saco River estuary and adjacent waters, including Biddeford Pool lagoon and Saco Bay (Gulf of Maine), over a 3-year period (1979–82). Twice as many species of vagile macrofauna were found in Saco Bay as in the estuarine environments, and none were found at the head of the estuary below the dam. Field distributions of various species and life stages agreed with their locomotor responses in the laboratory to physicochemical gradients, supporting the view that habitat correlations are at least in part determined by active habitat preference and/oor avoidance behavior of vagile species. We also examined the stomach contents of specimens of two common fish species to determine their local feeding habits. Yearling Pollachius virens fed primarily on Ammodytes americanus, while yearling Pseudopleuronectes americanus stomachs contained primarily small, whole Echinarachnius parma.
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Reynolds, W.W., Casterlin, M.E. Vagile macrofauna and the hydrographic environment of the Saco River Estuary and adjacent waters of the Gulf of Maine. Hydrobiologia 128, 207–215 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006816
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006816