Specifications

Section 2 Existing Conditions/Affected Environment
EAA Storage Reservoirs Revised Draft PIR and EIS February 2006
2-32
about 10 years. Like many elasmobranches (e.g., sharks), smalltooth sawfish
are ovoviviparous, meaning the mother holds the eggs inside of her until the
young are ready to be born; although there are no studies on actual litter size, its
similarity in size and habitat to the largetooth sawfish suggests litter size may
be in the range of 1-13 individuals. Sawfish species inhabit shallow coastal
waters of tropical seas and estuaries throughout the world. They are usually
found in shallow waters very close to shore over muddy and sandy bottoms.
They are often found in sheltered bays, on shallow banks, and in estuaries or
river mouths. Sawfish are among the few elasmobranchs that are known from
freshwater systems in many parts of the world (NMFS, 2000).
Smalltooth sawfish have been reported in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans,
but the U.S. population is found only in the Atlantic. Historically, the U.S.
population was common throughout the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida,
and along the east coast from Florida to Cape Hatteras; historical records also
indicate the smalltooth sawfish were found in the lower reaches of the St. Johns
River and Indian River lagoon. The current range of this species has contracted
to peninsular Florida, and smalltooth sawfish are relatively common only in the
Everglades and Florida Keys; the presence of this species appears to have been
abolished from Indian River lagoon. No accurate estimates of abundance trends
over time are available for this species. However, available records, including
museum records and anecdotal fisher observations, sawfish have declined
dramatically in U.S. waters over the last century (NMFS, 2000).
Smalltooth sawfish generally eat whatever small schooling fish may be
abundant locally, such as mullet. They may also feed on crustaceans and other
benthic organisms. The sawfish has been seen as “stirring the mud with its saw”
to locate its prey, or attacking schools of small fish by slashing sideways with its
saw and eating the wounded fish (NMFS, 2000).
2.11.5.11 Opossum Pipefish
The opossum pipefish (Microphis brachyurus lineatus), a species of special
concern and candidate species, is a circumtropical species and is mainly found in
southeast Florida and the Rio Grande River, Texas. In southeast Florida, the
opossum pipefish typically inhabits dense emergent bank vegetation usually
dominated by Panicum spp. and Polygonum spp. (Gilmore and Gilbert 1992).
The species has consistently been collected only from the Loxahatchee River
drainage, St. Lucie River, Sebastian Creek, the St. Lucie Canal at Lake
Okeechobee (Gilmore and Hastings 1983), and in relief canals associated with
tributaries. It is able to negotiate its way through canal locks, as evidenced by
its occurrence in Lake Okeechobee (Gilmore and Gilbert 1992). The opossum
pipefish matures, mates, and releases its progeny in fresh water in dense
emergent bank vegetation. Egg brooding is performed exclusively by the males,