Florida Bay

Pam Schofield's recent work in Florida Bay included conducting behavioral and physiological experiments on two common benthic fishes that may be indicators of environmental quality, the code goby Gobiosoma robustum and the clown goby Microgobius gulosus. 

Her research focused on the physiological tolerances of these species (especially with respect to shifts in salinity), as well as the importance of habitat attributes (such as seagrass) in reducing competition and predation.

This series of studies relate habitat factors, such as salinity variability and the presence of vegetation, to the distributions of these species, thus giving insight into how man-made environmental changes affect their distributions.

Click on the images above to enlarge.
Click here to open a thumbnail page of field sampling
 and lab specimens (opens in a separated window).

For more information, contact:
Pam Schofield: pam_schofield@usgs.gov

Related Publications

Schofield, P. J. 2004.  Predation vulnerability of two gobies (Microgobius gulosus; Gobiosoma robustum) is not related to presence of seagrass.  Florida Scientist 68(1): 25-34.

Schofield, P. J. 2004.  Influence of salinity, competition and food supply on the growth of Gobiosoma robustum and Microgobius gulosus (Girard) from Florida Bay, U. S. A.  Journal of Fish Biology 64:820-832.

Schofield, P. J. 2003.  Salinity tolerance of two gobies (Microgobius gulosus, Gobiosoma robustum) in Florida Bay (USA).  Gulf of Mexico Science 21(1): 86-91.

Schofield, P.  J.  2003. Habitat selection of two gobies (Microgobius gulosus, Gobiosoma robustum): influence of structural complexity, competitive interactions and presence of a predator.  Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 288(1): 125-137.

Schofield, P. J. 2003.  Factors affecting the distribution and densities of two gobies (Microgobius gulosus and Gobiosoma robustum) in a lagoonal estuarine system (Florida Bay, USA). Doctoral dissertation, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi.

Schofield, P. J. 2003.  Seagrass presence structures densities and distributions of two estuarine gobies: laboratory and field evidence. Poster presented at the Estuarine Research Foundation biennial meeting in Seattle, WA, September 2003. <website>

Schofield, P. J. An ecological history of the Everglades-Florida Bay watershed. Invited speaker, Bennett Symposium  "Headwaters to the Sea: Evolution and conservation of fish assemblages in large rivers"  Hattiesburg, MS, September 2003.

Schofield, P. J. Factors affecting the distribution of two gobies (Microgobius gulosus, Gobiosoma robustum) in Florida Bay, U. S. A.  Poster presented at the Joint Conference on the Science and Restoration of the Greater Everglades and Florida Bay Ecosystem, Palm Harbor, FL, April 2003.  <website>

Schofield, P. J. Effects of environmental heterogeneity on physiology, feeding ecology and biological interactions of two gobies (Microgobius gulosus and Gobiosoma robustum). Poster presented at the 1998 Florida Bay Science Conference, Miami, FL, May 1998.