Southern Flounder
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REFERENCECOPY Do Not Remove from the Library U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Report, 82(11.30) lUatlona' vveTlanasKeSemr TR EL-82-4 April. 1985 700 Cajun Dome Boule\lard Lafayette, Louisiana 7r1536 Species Profiles: Life Histories and Environmental Requirements of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (Gulf of Mexico) SOUTHERN FLOUNDER Coastal Ecology Group Fish and Wildlife Service Waterways Experiment Station U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Army Corps of Engineers This is one of the first reports to be publ ished in the new "Biological Report'' series. This technical report series, publ ished by the Research and Development branch of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, replaces the "FWS/OBS1I series published from 1976 to September 1984. The Biolog- ical Report series is designed for the rapid publ ication of reports with an application orientation, and it continues the focus of the FWS/OBS series on resource management issues and fish and wild1ife needs. Biological Report 82(11.30) TR EL-82-4 April 1985 Species Profiles: Life Hi stories and Envi ronlnental Requirements of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (Gulf of Mexico) SOUTHERN FLOUNDER Roland E. Reagan, Jr. and William M. Wingo Department of Wildlife and Fisheries 136 Dorrnan Hal 1 Mississippi State University Missi ssi ppi State, MS 39 762 Project Manager Larry Shanks Project Officer John Parsons National Coastal Ecosystems Team U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1010 Gause Boulevard Sl idel 1 , LA 70458 Performed for Coastal Ecol ogy Group U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station Vicksburg, MS 39180 and National Coastal Ecosystems Team Division of Biological Services Research and Development Fi sh and Wi1 dli fe Servi ce U.S. Department of the Interior Washington , DC 20240 This series can be referenced as follows: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1983-19 . Species profiles: life histories and envi ronlnental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 82(11). 1J.S. Corps of Engineers TR EL-82-4. TQis profile can be cited as follows: Reagan, R.E., Jr., and W.M. Uingo. 1985. Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (Gulf of Mexico)--southern flounder. U.S. Fish Wi1 dl. Serv. Biol . Rep. 82(11.30). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers TR EL-82-4. 9 pp. PREFACE This species profile is one of a series on coastal aquatic organisms, principally fish, of sport, commercial, or ecological importance. The profiles are designed to provide coastal managers, engineers, and biologists with a brief comprehensive sketch of the bi01 og ical characteristics and environmental require- ments of the species and to describe how populations of the species may be expected to react to enviro~lental changes caused by coastal development. Each profile has sections on taxonmy, 1ife history, ecological role, environmental requirements, and economic importance, if appl icabl e. A three-ring binder is used for this series so that new profiles can be added as they are prepared. This project is jointly planned and financed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Suggestions or questions regarding this report should be directed to one of the following addresses. Information Transfer Special ist National Coastal Ecosystems Team U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service NASA-Sl idel 1 Computer Compl ex 1010 Gause Boulevard Sl idel 1 , LA 70458 U. S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station Attenti on : WESER-C Post Office Box 631 Vicksburg, MS 39180 CONVERSION TABLE Metric to U.S. Customary Mu1 tiply EL To Obtain mil1 imeters (mn) inches centimeters (an) inches meters (m) feet ki1 orneters ( km) mil es 2 square meters (m ) 10.76 square feet square ki1 meters ( km2) 0.3861 square miles hectares (ha) 2.471 acres liters (1) gal 1ons cubic meters (m3) cubic feet cubic meters acre-feet mil 1 igrams (mg) 0.00003527 ounces grams (g) 0.03527 ounces kilograms (kg) 2.205 pounds metric tons (t) 2205.0 pounds metric tons 1.102 short tons ki1 ocal ories ( kcal ) 3.968 British thermal uni ts Cel sius degrees 1.8("C) + 32 Fahrenheit degrees U.S. Customary to Metric inches 25.40 mil1 imeters inches 2.54 centimeters feet (ft) 0.3048 meters fathorns 1.829 meters miles (mi) 1.609 kilometers nautical miles (mi) 1.852 ki1 ometers square feet (ft2) 0.0929 square meters hectares acres 2 0.4047 square miles (mi ) 2.590 square ki1 ometers gallons (gal) 3.785 1i ters cubic feet (ft3) 0.02831 cubic meters acre- feet 1233.0 cubic meters ounces (02) 28.35 grams pounds (Ib) 0.4536 ki1 ograms short tons (ton) 0.9072 metric tons British thermal units (Btu) 0.2520 ki1 ocal ories Fahrenheit degrees 0.5556(" F - 32) Celsius degrees CONTENTS Page PREFACE ............................................................. CONVERSION TABLE .................................................... ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................... NOMENCLATURE/TAXONOMY/RANGE ......................................... MORPHOLOGY AND IDENTIFICATION AIDS .................................. REASON FOR ZNCLUSIOti IN SERIES ...................................... LIFE HISTORY ........................................................ Spawning ....................................................... Fecundity ...................................................... Larvae ......................................................... Junveniles and Adults .......................................... GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS .............................................. FISHERY ............................................................. ECOLOGICAL ROLE ..................................................... Food Habits .................................................... Behavior ...............?....................................... ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENT7 .......................................... Temperature .................................................... ~alinity ....................................................... Dissolved Oxygen ............................................... Substrate ...................................................... LITERATURE CITED .................................................... We thank Hugh Swingle of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Dickson Hoese of the University of Southwestern Louisiana for reviewing the manuscript. Figure 1. Southern flounder. SOUTHERN FLOUNDER sometimes enter freshwater (Gu therz 196 7). Scientific nawe ....... Paralichthys lethostigma (Jordan and Gilbert) Preferred common name ..... Southern MORPHOLOGY AND IDENTIFICATION AIDS flounder (Figure 1). Other common names ........Flounder, Dorsal fin rays range from 80 to mud flounder, doormat, and ha1 ibut 95; anal rays from 63 to 74, and Class ................. Osteichthyes pectoral fin (eye side) rays from 11 Order ............ Pleuronectiformes to 13. Upper gill rakers on the upper Family .................... Bothidae limb of the first gill arch range from 2 to 3 and lower gill rakers on the Geographic Range: The southern floun- lower limb from 8 to 11. Scales in der 'inhahi ts the coastal wters of the lateral line range from 35 to 100. the east coast and the Gulf of Mex- Body depth is 30% to 47% of standard ico (Figure 2) from North Carolina length (SL). The eyes are on the left to Texas. They are common along the side and color is light to dark brown shores of bays, sounds, and lagoons with diffuse nonocel lated dark in comparatively shall ow waters and spots and blotches. The blindside is white or dusky (Hoese and weeks before spawning took place, Moore 1977). males began fol lowing gravid females in the tanks. The first spawning was on December 21. Spawning was at REASON FOR INCLUSION IN THE SERIES midday, when females swam to the surface and released eggs that The southern flounder is a valua- were immediately ferti1 ized by ble sport and commercial fish along attending males. Fertilization was the gulf coast. Sport fishiqg is done 30% to 50% successful, and 6% by hook and line and by gigging. Most to 35% of the eggs hatched in of the cominercial catch is incidental 61 to 76 hr (Arnold et al. to the catch by shrimp trawlers. 1977). According to Jackson (1972) the southern flounder is "one of the most sought after and prized fish in the --Fecundity area and is recognized for its fine flavor." Thirteen southern flounders examined in the laboratory, produced a total of 120,000 eggs (average about LIFE HISTORY 9,230; Arnold et al. 1977). Spawni- nq Larvae Most southern flounders spawn in late fall and early winter, but some In culture, yo1 k-sac larvae began spawn in early spring (Ginsburg 1952). metamorphosing to postlarvae at 40 to 46 days (8 to 11 mm long); In North Carolina, southern metamorphosis was complete by 50 flounders migrate out of estuaries in to 51 days (Arnold et a1 . 1977). fall to spawn (Hildebrand and Cable 1930). In Texas, they migrate from estuaries into the Gulf of Mexico from Juveniles and Adults October through December, apparently to spawn (Stokes 1977). Males move Post1arvae of southern flounder seaward earlier than females and few 18 to 34 nun in total length (TL) were remain in the estuaries after Novem- captured during February, March, and ber. This migration is usually pre- May at Gal veston Island, Texas (Arnold ceded by a drop in water temperature et al. 1960); fish 25 to 51 mm TL were of 4" to 5°C.. Southern flounders caught in Mississippi River passes are caught in gulf waters as deep as during spring (Kel 1ey 1955). 63 m. Southern flounder post1arvae