Animal
Atlantic silverside
Menidia menidia
Also known as: spearing
A slender, silvery, schooling baitfish (3–6 inches) — one of the most-abundant fishes in shallow Atlantic estuaries and a critical prey species in the New York Harbor food web. Common in waters around Staten Island; large schools visible from any harbor-edge pier or beach in summer. Bait of choice for many recreational fisheries. The species the harbor's striped bass, bluefish, and ospreys are eating when they're not eating menhaden.
Scientific
Menidia menidia is a 3–6 inch schooling fish native to Atlantic-coast estuaries from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida. Schooling, schooling, schooling — large summer aggregations are conspicuous in shallow tidal waters. Diet: zooplankton, small invertebrates.
Annual life cycle — most individuals live a single year. Spring spawning in shallow water; juveniles grow rapidly through summer; most die by their second winter. The species’ ecology is built on producing massive numbers of fish that fuel predator populations.
Sex determination is environmentally controlled — water temperature during early development determines whether developing eggs become male or female. Climate change has altered sex ratios in some populations.
On Staten Island
Abundant in harbor and tidal-creek waters. Massive summer schools visible from any pier, beach, or harbor edge. Common bait for recreational fishing. Large predator fish ([[striped-bass|striped bass]], [[bluefish|bluefish]]) follow silverside schools.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Substrate of: [[striped-bass]] · [[new-york-harbor-estuary]]
- Member of: [[animal]]
- Contained by: [[staten-island]]
Sources
- Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission baitfish records
- Long-term Menidia environmental sex-determination literature
Rooted in life.
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