Using Conventional Analysis in Parallel with Geographical Information Systems Techniques to Examine the Distribution of Brown Shrimp in the Mississippi Sound

Abstract

AbstractA geographical information systems technique for visualizing spatial data was used in conjunction with standard analytical procedures to examine the size‐specific distribution of brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus in nearshore nursery areas and open waters of the Mississippi Sound. Brown shrimp abundance was assessed during 2000, 2001, and 2002 by means of an otter trawl along 10 transects consisting of three stations each. The number of brown shrimp, together with the dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity values, were collected at each sampling station. A decreasing trend in salinity was observed from east to west. The highest salinities were measured in 2000. No temporal patterns in dissolved oxygen or temperature were apparent. Brown shrimp showed the highest abundances in western Mississippi Sound, an area adjoining the extensive marshes of St. Tammany and St. Bernard parishes in Louisiana. The average size of the brown shrimp in the western sound was smaller than that of the brown shrimp in other areas, indicating continued recruitment in the former area.