LIDO KEY - As Hurricane Charley surged toward the mouth of Charlotte Harbor, some of the estuary's fish hurried away to safer locales, while others hunkered down and took their chances.
At least that's the picture that comes from two research projects that have been tracking the movement of the estuary's species. Scientists presented their findings this month at the Charlotte Harbor Conference at Mote Marine Laboratory.
Of eight radio-tagged sharks in lower Pine Island Sound, six escaped before the storm made landfall, Mote Marine Laboratory biologist Michelle Heupel found.
The two other sharks also disappeared from range of the sensing equipment, but Heupel said she isn't sure they left the lower sound.
While sharks may roam, the estuary's other fish species may not go far, another set of researchers found. Fish "choruses" - noises emitted by some fish during courtship and spawning - resumed in lower Charlotte Harbor about 11/2 hours after Charley passed, University of South Florida researchers found.
In the days after, the noises actually increased.
"Either there are other fish that moved into the area, or the fish didn't go anywhere," said USF associate professor David Mann.
