Species Profiles: Life Histories and Environmental Requirements of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (North Atlantic)
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AR-411 -A189 596 SPECIES PROFILES· LIFE HISTORIES ANO ENYIROIIN£NTAL 1/1 �EQUIRENENTS OF COASTA (U) NATIONAL UNDERSEA RESEARCH PROGRAN GROTON CT l l STEWART ET Al AUG 87 UNCLASSIFIED FWS-82/11 76 FIG 8/1 NL I � 1111111111111 11111 1.0 1"1I�, 1-- 1.. I • 111u·i If= a_ �Ill t. JI� 11111�·.4_11111;� D11CJILL CCL' Biological Report 82 11.76K /1 K2 4 *~ August 1987 I' Species Profiles: Life Histories and (D Environmental Requirements of Coastal Fishes 00 and Invertebrates,-- (North Atlantic) DTIC _< I~tELE, TE tI ATLANTIC TOMCOD D : ....."................:: " " ........... "!: ... :........::."'..!"-ii'..... -16 . :;. _ ..... w.. p..-.- : . - V.ii Coastal Ecology Group Fish and Wildlife Service Waterways Experiment Station U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 87 12 11 082 Biological Report 82(11.76) TR EL-82-4 August 1987 Species Profiles: Life Histories and Environmental Requirements of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (North Atlantic) ATLANTIC TOMCOD by Lance L. Stewart and Peter J. Auster NOAA's National Undersea Research Program The University of Connecticut at Avery Point Groton, CT 06340 Project Manager Carroll Cordes Project Officer David Moran U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Research Center 1010 Gause Boulevard Slidell, LA 70458 Acesion For Performed for NTIS C1?A&I Coastal Ecology Group IDT I A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- Waterways Experiment Station ...... Vicksburg, MS 39180 and ......................... U.S. Department of the Interior . Fish and Wildlife Service Research and Development National Wetlands Research Center Washington, DC 20240 _____I L\ l_ This series may be referenced as follows: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1983-19 . Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 82(11). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, TR EL-82-4. This profile may be cited as follows: Stewart, L.L. , and P.J. A'ister. 1987. Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (North Atlantic)--Atlantic tomcod. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 82(11.76). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, TR EL-82-4. 8 pp. I. 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 biological characteristics and environmental requirements of the species and to describe how populations of the species may be expected to react to environmental changes caused by coastal development. Each profile has sections on taxonomy, life history, ecological role, environmental requirements, and economic importance, if applicable. 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 repo.-t should be directed to one of the following addresses. Information Transfer Specialist National Coastal Ecosystems Team U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service NASA-Slidell Computer Complex 1010 Gause Boulevard Slidell, LA 70458 or U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station Attention: WESER-C Post Office Box 631 Vicksburg, MS 39180 iii SL Ii CONVERSION TABLE Metric to U.S. Customary To Obtain Multyply millimeters (mm) 0.03937 inches inches centimeters (cm) 0.3937 feet meters (i) 3.281 0.5468 fathoms meters (W) miles kilometers (km) 0.6214 statute nautical miles kilometers (km) 0.5396 2 square feet square meters (m ) 10.76 (km2 ) 0.3861 square miles square kilometers acres hectares (ha) 2.471 liters (1) 0.2642 gallons feet cubic meters (in) 35.31 cubic 3 acre-feet cubic meters (m ) 0.0008110 milligrams (mg) 0.00003527 ounces 0.03527 ounces grams (g) pounds kilograms (kg) 2.205 tons (t) 2205.0 pounds metric short tons metric tons (t) 1.102 thermal units (kcal) 3.968 British kilocalories 0 Fahrenheit degrees Celsius degrees ( C) 1.8(OC) + 32 U.S. Customary to Metric 25.40 millimeters inches centimeters inches 2.54 meters feet (ft) 0.3048 1.829 meters fathoms kilometers statute miles (mi) 1.609 nautical miles (nmi) 1.852 kilometers square feet (ft2) 0.0929 square meters 2 kilometers square miles (mi ) 2.590 square acres 0.4047 hectares 3.785 liters gallons (gal) : 0.02831 cubic meters O,- cubic feet (ft1) cubic meters acre-feet 1233.0 ounces (oz) 28350.0 milligrams ounces (oz) 28.35 grams (ib) 0.4536 kilograms pounds metric tons pounds (Ib) 0.00045 short tons (ton) 0.9072 metric tons thermal units (Btu) 0.2520 kilocalories British Celsius degrees Fahrenheit degrees (OF) 0.5556 (OF - 32) I iv pf CONTENTS Page PREFACE..................................................................111i CON'.61ON TABLE........................................................... iv ACiN,.,DGMENTS................................ ........................... vi NOMENCLATURE/TAXONOMY/RANGE................................................1 MORPHOLOGY/IDENTIFICATION AIDS.............................................1 REASON FOR INCLUSION IN SERIES............................................. 3 LIFE HISTORY........................... ................................... 3 *Spawning....................... ......................................... 3 Fecundity and Eggs....................................................... 3 Larvae................................................................... 3 Juvenile and Adults...................................................... 4 GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS..................................................... 4 FISHERY.................................................................... 5 ECOLOGICAL ROLE............................................................ 5 ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS................................................. 6 Temrperature.............................................................. 6 Salinit.................................................................. 6 Habitat.................................................................. 6 LITERATURE CITED...........................................................7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are grateful for the review by W. Smith and T. Pacheco of the National Marine Fisheries Service, Sandy Hook, New Jersey. We also thank Constance Fontaine and Andrew Shepard for patiently dealing with drafts and the computer. Mary Jane Spring expertly prepared figure 1. 0..- vi p Figure 1. Atlantic tomcod (Microgadus tomcod). NOMENCLATURE/TAXONOMY/RANGE elongated, and the upper jaw projects past the lower jaw. There is a barbel on the chin. Differences in Scientific name ........... Microgadus several key external characters tomcod (Walbaum) allow easy differentiation: The Preferred common name ....... Atlantic second rays of the ventral fins of tomcod (Figure 1) the tomcod are long, narrow, and Other common name .......... Frostfish tapering (the tapered portion is Class ................... Osteichthyes as long as the rest of the fin), Order . .................... Gadiformes whereas those of the cod are shorter, Family ....................... Gadidae broad, and rounded (the filament is one-quarter the length of the fin). Geographic range: Coastal waters of The caudal fin of the tomcod is the northwest Atlantic from southern rounded, in contrast to the squarish Labrador and northern Newfoundland fin of the cod. Coloration of the to Virginia (Figure 2). Generally tomcod is olive, olive-brown, or occurring in brackish water but muddy green, with some yellow on occasionally in freshwater (Bigelow the dorsal surface; lower lateral and Schroeder 1953; Leim and Scott surfaces have a more yellowish cast, 1966). especially in larger fish; dorsal fins are mottled with dark spots MORPHOLOGY/IDENTIFICATION AIDS or blotches; and the belly is gray or yellow-white and the margin of the anal fin is olive. Bigelow and Schroeder (1953) and Leim and Scott (1966) provided complete descriptions of the Atlantic Booth (1967) and Hardy (1978) tomcod and guides for its differen- provided descriptions of the tiation from other species. Atlantic development of eggs and larvae, tomcod generally have the same body which can be distinguished from plan as the much larger Atlantic other species on the basis of cod (Gadus morhua). The body is morphology. CANADA ,... ' MAINE 0o *o xI lop ,' V CAEO t AaPORTLAND*e( 4 A ATLANTIC M~AN 4 00 BOSTON CAPE COD Coastal distribution MASSACHUSET S MILES 0 %0 10 0 KILOMETERS 10 F-igure 2. Coastal distribution of the Atlantic tomcod (Microgadus tomcod) in the 2 REASON FOR INCLUSION IN SERIES substrate (Bigelow and Shroeder 1953; Dew and Hecht 1976). Altantic tomcod are widespread Salinity affects fertilization, along coastal regions of the north- development, and subsequent hatching eastern coast of the U.S. They are success. Sperm motility is greatest abundant in estuarine habitats sucn as at low salinities (Booth 1967); hence river mouths and salt marshes. These fertilization success is also highest same habitats are subject to a wide at low salinity. Eggs generally occur variety of human sources of distur- and develop mostly in freshwater, due bance. to stream flow characteristics at the heads of estuaries; seawater intrusion occurs only at extreme high tides. LIFE HISTORY Normal development does not occur when eggs are continuuusly exposed to salinities of 30 ppt or higher (Peterson et al. 1980). Booth (1967) Spawning found that the