334
 If the good correlation between simulations from Model III

 and Kushlan's data is an indication that the relationships

 expressed in Model III are correct, then a low fish stock

 at the beginning of the wet season of 1974 was a major

 cause of the low production. Based on measurements at Mud

 Lake Pond, the standing stock relative to the area to be

 colonized in early June 1974 was approximately 0.09 mg/sq-

 m. The paucity of colonizers was perhaps partially due to

 the severity of the 1973-74 drought, which was the most

 severe on record for the area (National Weather Service,

 Ft. Myers, pers. comm.). A relatively low production of

 prey fish in Corkscrew marsh in the summer and fall of 1974

 may also have been due to the large local population of

 gar, which may not have been adversely affected by the

 1973-74 drought, because the pond did not completely dry.

 Although fish production during the wet season of 1974

seemed low, that for the following wet season was even

lower. Conditions for fish production during the 1975 wet

season were very different from those of the previous year.

Because rains were delayed and less intense, the marsh was

not completely covered with water until late July, and

maximum water depths were not reached until September. The

conclusion that fish production was lower during the 1975

wet season was based on a spot sampling in the pond in

February 1976, which yielded a much smaller harvest than

that of a comparable period the year before.