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Northeast Gulf Science Volume 7 Article 4 Number 2 Number 2

3-1985 Spawning Periods of Common Inshore on the East David J. Herrema Applied Biology, Inc.

Bruce D. Peery Applied Biology, Inc.

Nancy Williams-Walls Applied Biology, Inc.

J. Ross Wilcox Florida Power and Light Company

DOI: 10.18785/negs.0702.04 Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/goms

Recommended Citation Herrema, D. J., B. D. Peery, N. Williams-Walls and J. Wilcox. 1985. Spawning Periods of Common Inshore Fishes on the Florida East Coast. Northeast Gulf Science 7 (2). Retrieved from https://aquila.usm.edu/goms/vol7/iss2/4

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Science by an authorized editor of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Herrema et al.: Spawning Periods of Common Inshore Fishes on the Florida East Coa Northeast Gulf Science Vol. 7, No.2 March 1985 153

DISCUSSION

SPAWNING PERIODS OF The Indian River region of east COMMON INSHORE FISHES Florida, of which Hutchinson Island is a ON THE FLORIDA portion, is a transitional zone EAST COAST characterized by the overlap of warm­ temperate Carolinian and tropical Carib­ Environmental monitoring has been bean faunas (Gilmore, 1977). The fish conducted continuously since 1976 assemblage found in the area thus varies at the Florida Power & Light Company seasonally and, depending on climatic St. Lucie Plant on Hutchinson Island, conditions, from year to year. Spawning St. Lucie County, Florida. This note lists periods also vary considerably in this 96 fish and 1 hybrid collected transitional area, based on the months during this monitoring and the month(s) when fishes were found in spawning each was found in spawning condition. condition (Table 1). Fish spawning off Hutchinson METHODS Island can be separated into three broad periods: fall-winter-spring (October Fish were collected from the plant through May), spring-summer-fall (March intake screens, by gill netting and trawl­ through October) and year around). For ing within 3.5 km of shore and by beach those species whose spawning periods seining. All commercial and sport are reasonably well defined, the species were examined for spawning yellowfin menhaden, pigfish, sparids and condition; other species were examined many of the sciaenids are fall-winter­ sporadically. Spawning condition was spring spawners. The blue runner, lane shown by extruded eggs or milt when snapper, banded drum and gulf kingfish pressure was applied ventrally or by are spring-summer-fall spawners. enlarged gonads when the fish were Although individual bluefish, Atlantic examined internally. bumper, Florida pompano, black margate and Spanish mackerel were RESULTS found in spawning condition during the winter months (January, February and/or Over 100,000 fishes representing December), this was unusual and these 288 species were collected during species also are most likely spring­ the 8.5 years of monitoring through summer-fall spawners. The bank cusk­ mid-1984. Fishes found in spawning , southern kingfish, white and condition are listed in Table 1. Those leopard searobin are year-around marked with an asterisk were collected spawners. Each of these three broad as adults year around and the spawning spawning groups are predominantly periods for these species are reasonably composed of Carolinian species, well defined. The remaining fishes although tropical species, such as the were collected or examined on only silver porgy, lane snapper, black margate one or a few occasions or did not and white mullet, also are found. occur year around. For these species, spawning months are accurate where ACKNOWLEDGMENTS given but spawning periods may not be well defined. We wish to thank the many people

Published by The Aquila Digital Community, 1984 1 Gulf of Mexico Science, Vol. 7 [1984], No. 2, Art. 4 154 Short papers and notes

Table 1. Months of occurrence of fisties found in spawning condition, Hutchinson Island, Florida, January 1976-June 1984. (Asterisks denote fishes caught as adults year around.)

Species Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jut Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

lesser electric ray (Narcine brasiliensis) _1 ladyfish (Eiops saurus) purplemouth moray (Gymnothorax vicinus) sooty eel (Bascanichthys bascanium) eel (Ophichthus gomes1) palespotted eel (0. ace/latus) yeliowfin menhaden (Brevoortia smith!)* Atlantic menhaden (B. tyrannus) menhaden (B. smith/ x tyrannus) scaled sardine (Harengu/a jaguana) Atlantic thread herring (Opisthonema og/inum) Spanish sardine (Sardinella aurita) Cuban anchovy (Anchoa cubana) striped anchovy (A. hepsetus) longnose anchovy (A. nasuta) inshore lizardfish (Synodus toetens) hardhead (Artus fe/is) gafftopsall catfish (Bagre marinus) Atlantic midshipman (Porichthys plectrodon) blotched cusk·eel (Ophidion gray!) bank cusk-eel (0. holbrook!)* mooneye cusk-eel (0. selenops) lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) bull pipefish (Syngnathus springen) tarpon snook (Centropomus pectinatus) snook (C. undecimalis) rock sea bass (Centropristis philadelphica) sand perch (Dip/ectrum formosum) bluefish (Pomatomus sa/latrix)* blue runner ( crysos)* Atlantic bumper ( chrysurus)* round scad (Decapturus punctatus) leatherjacket (0/igop/ites saurus) bigeye scad (Selar crumenoptha/mus) Atlantic moonfish (Selene setapinnis) Florida pompano (Trachinotus caro/inus)* gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) lane snapper (L. synagris)* Irish pompano ( auratus) striped mojarra (0. plum/en) sliver jenny ( gu/a) yeliowfin mojarra ( cinereus) black margate (Anisotremus surinamensis)* porkfish (A. virginicus) tomtate (Haemu/on auro/ineatum) sailors choice (H. parra1) white grunt (H. plumien) pigfish (Orthopristis chrysoptera)* sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus)* sea bream (A. rhomboida/is) silver porgy (Dip/odus argenteus)* pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides)* silver perch (Baird/ella chrysoura) striped croaker (B. sanctaeluciae) silver seatrout (Cynoscion nothus)* weakfish (C. rega/is)* banded drum (Larimus fasciatus)* https://aquila.usm.edu/goms/vol7/iss2/4 2 DOI: 10.18785/negs.0702.04 Herrema et al.: Spawning Periods of Common Inshore Fishes on the Florida East Coa Northeast Gulf Science Vol. 7, No. 2 March 1985 155

spot (Leiostomus xanthurus)* southern kingfish (Menticirrhus americanus)* gulf klngfish (M. littoralis)* northern kingfish (M. saxatilis) high-hat (Equetus acuminatus) Atlantic croaker (Micropognius undulatus)* black drum (Pogonias cromis) sand drum (Umbrina coroides)* Atlantic spadefish (Chaetodipterus faber) striped mullet (Mugi/ cephalus) white mullet (M. curema)* great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) guaguanche (S. guachancho) dusky jawfish (Opistognathus whitehurstl) bigeye stargazer (Dactyloscopus crossotus) southern stargazer (Astroscopus y-graecum) hairy blenny (Labrisomus nuchipinnls) checkered blenny (Starks/a ace/lata) oyster blenny (Hypleurochi/us aequ/pinnis) orangespotted blenny (H. sprlngen) seaweed blenny (Parablenn/us marmoreus) Seminole goby (Microgoblus cam) Atlantic cutlassfish (Trichiurus lepturus) frigate mackerel (Auxis thazard) little tunny (Euthynnus al!etteratus) Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus)* harvestfish (Pepri/us alepldotus) butterfish (P. triacanthus) smoothhead scorpionfish (Scorpaena calcarata) striped searobin (Prlonotus evolans) blackwing searobin (P. salmon/color) leopard searobin (P. scltulus)* bighead searobin (P. tribulus) spotted whiff (Citharichthys macrops) southern flounder (Parallchthys lethostigma) broad flounder (P. squamilentus) shoal flounder (Syacium gun ten) lined sole (Achirus 1/neatus) naked sole (Gymnachirus me/as) southern puffer (Sphoeroides nephelus)

1 2one individual with 11 embryos near term. Males with young in brood pouch.

who conducted field sampling over waters, Florida. Bull. Fla. State Mus. the years, R. Grant Gilmore, Jr. for Bioi. Sci. 22(3):101-147. reviewing the manuscript and Florida Power & Light Company for funding. David J. Herrema, Bruce D. Peery and Nancy Williams-Walls. Applied LITERATURE CITED Biology, Inc., 641 DeKalb Industrial Way, Decatur, GA 30033 and J. Ross Wilcox, Florida Power & Light Gilmore, R.G., Jr. 1977. Fishes of the Company, 700 Universe Blvd., Juno Indian River lagoon and adjacent Beach, FL 33408.

Published by The Aquila Digital Community, 1984 3