“…Register, 2009; NMFS 1 ; Norton et al, 2012). For example, research data and encounter reports from the public of encountering this species indicate that pregnant females enter nurseries briefly, to give birth, and that juveniles occupy the tidal portions of rivers, estuaries, and coastal bays for approximately their first 3 years (to ~2.2 m in total length) (Seitz and Poulakis, 2002;Simpfendorfer et al, 2008bSimpfendorfer et al, , 2010, and larger juveniles and adults are typically found in open-water, marine habitats (Poulakis and Seitz, 2004;Carlson et al, 2014;Waters et al, 2014). Research in the Charlotte Harbor estuarine system has led to important insights into the ecology of juvenile smalltooth sawfish: 1) nursery habitats include main-stem and non-main-stem riverine habitats, and these habitats are used differently throughout ontogeny Poulakis et al, 2013); 2) juveniles have affinities for specific abiotic conditions during their nursery residency ; and 3) responses of juveniles to freshwater inflow-related changes can be delayed (Poulakis et al, 2013).…”