Winter Flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus)

The winter flounder is a flat fish that has both its eyes and mounth on one side of its body. It is called the winter flounder because it moves to shallow waters during the winter. Gma.org describes it as "a small-mouthed, right-handed species"(Winter Flounder). Flounder tend to have a darker color so when it is swimming near the seafloor it will not be seen by other organisms. Flounder can grow up to 20in long and weight about 5 pounds. It is one of many vertebrates that can be found in the subtidal soft bottom. They are mainly found in the north atlantic coast, but they can also be found as far south as North Carolina. During the winter they will be in shallow water, and during the summer they will migrate away from the shore into deeper waters.

Chemical Oceanography: Contamination of ocean water has had lethal affects on the flounder in the contaminated areas. Some of the waters around Boston have been contaminated by sewage leaking into the ocean. This has caused a lot of the flounder in the area to develop tumors on their livers. Areas around the Chesapeake, and Newark Bays are contaminated with anthropogenic compounds. These compounds include PAHs, and pesticides. These compounds severly affect the flounders ability to swim therefore making it harder for then to catch their prey.

Geological Oceanography: The winter flounder tends to rest within the sediments on the seafloor. They will rest in the soft clay and gravel on the bottom of the ocean. When they are not swimming they will bury themselves in the seafloor in order to hide from other marine organisms. The loose sediments on the seafloor allow them to bury themselves.

Physical Oceanography: Flounder will generally lie on the seafloor during low tide, and wait for high tide to move and look for food. Because the flounder lies on the seafloor it is not usually affected by waves or current.

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Sources:

http://www.gma.org/fogm/P_americanus.htm

http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2009/linhart_davi/Adaptations.htm

http://www.cptdave.com/winter-flounder.html

https://darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org/handle/1912/1816

http://acs.confex.com/acs/marm08/techprogram/P55846.HTM

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://endurancecharters.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/winter-flounder.jpg&imgrefurl