Ichthyoplankton communities of Galveston, Texas barrier island environments were characterized from 22 January through 27 August 1979. Beachfront and saltmarsh sites were sampled with a Renfro beam trawl to determine seasonal and diel trends in species composition and abundance of subadult fishes. Beach and saltmarsh constituted important temporary habitats for many ichthyoplankton species. Most larvae initially penetrated beach and tidal pass habitats but sought nutrient-rich saltmarsh environs. The beachfront yielded the highest number of taxa while the saltmarsh produced the greatest catch per effort. Peak ichthyoplankton abundances at both sites occurred during winter and early spring. Day and night sampling at the beach yielded similar catch statistics while peak yields at the saltmarsh consistently occurred during the day.
