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Life History Attributes of Mid-Atlantic Menidia Menidia

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Life History Attributes of Mid-Atlantic Menidia Menidia W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2001 Life History Attributes of Mid-Atlantic Menidia menidia (Pisces: Atherinidae) and a Comparison with Northern (Massachusetts) and Southern (South Carolina) Populations Richard K. Holmquist College of William and Mary - Virginia Institute of Marine Science Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Fresh Water Studies Commons, Oceanography Commons, and the Zoology Commons Recommended Citation Holmquist, Richard K., "Life History Attributes of Mid-Atlantic Menidia menidia (Pisces: Atherinidae) and a Comparison with Northern (Massachusetts) and Southern (South Carolina) Populations" (2001). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539617782. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25773/v5-exa9-3976 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LIFE HISTORY ATTRIBUTES OF MID-ATLANTIC MENIDIA MENIDIA (PISCES: ATHERINIDAE) AND A COMPARISON WITH NORTHERN (MASSACHUSETTS) AND SOUTHERN (SOUTH CAROLINA) POPULATIONS A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the School of Marine Science The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Richard K. Holmquist 2001 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Richard K. Approved, April 2001 Herbert M. Austin, Ph.D. Committee Chairman / Advisor Mark E. Chittenden, Jr., Ph.D. JbftrrAT Musick, Ph, David O. Conover, Ph.D. State University of New York, Stony Brook Stony Brook, New York TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................ vi ABSTRACT............................................................................................................ viii INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................. 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS.......................................................................... 10 Sampling Sites.................................................................................................... 10 Sampling Methodology..................................................................................... 16 Data Analysis................................................................................................... 18 RESULTS.............................................................................................................. 22 DISCUSSION......................................................................................................... 59 SUMMARY........................................................................................................... 75 APPENDIX............................................................................................................. 77 LITERATURE CITED.......................................................................................... 83 VITA........................................................................................................................ 88 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank Dr. Herbert Austin for his academic assistance in this research and for his financial support via grants from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) and the VMRC Virginia Recreational Fishing Development Fund. I also wish to thank my other committee members, Drs. David Conover, Jack Musick, Mark Chittenden, and David Evans for their assistance with the analysis of the data and for their critical review of the manuscript. Additionally, I received invaluable field assistance from Donald Seaver, Michael Wagner, Albert Curry, Geoff White, and others. Chris Bonzek offered critical technical assistance with data management. Susanna Musick was a great help counting silverside eggs. Finally, I wish to thank my numerous friends, especially my wife, Julie. Her support for the completion of this work was unfaltering despite our being apart for most of the last three years. iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Silverside total length (mm) and somatic weight (g) at the end 36 of the first season of growth and at the end of life. 1994 and 1995 cohorts. Silver Beach and Wachapreague. V LIST OF FIGURES Map of the six Virginia sampling sites at Bloxom, 12 Silver Beach, Kiptopeke, Fisherman’s Island, Oyster, and Wachapreague. Graph of the mean surf-zone water temperatures during 27 sampling at the six sites between 1994 and 1996. Also included is a graph of daily water temperatures recorded at the VIMS pier, York River, Gloucester Point, VA during the same period. Graph of mean total length at the Wachapreague and Silver 29 Beach stations for the 1994 silverside cohort. Graph of mean total length at the Wachapreague and Silver 31 Beach stations for the 1995 silverside cohort. Graph of somatic weight at the Wachapreague and Silver Beach 33 stations for the 1994 silverside cohort. Graph of somatic weight at the Wachapreague and Silver Beach 35 stations for the 1995 silverside cohort. Graph of condition at the Wachapreague and Silver Beach 38 Stations for the 1994 silverside cohort. Graph of condition at the Wachapreague and Silver Beach 40 Stations for the 1995 cohort. Histogram of silverside abundance versus water temperature, 42 using data collected from the VIMS trawl survey, 1987-1996. Graph of gonadosomatic index for silverside males from both 44 the 1994 and 1995 cohorts. Graph of gonadosomatic index for silverside females from both 46 the 1994 and 1995 cohorts. vi Graphs of total number of eggs (mature & recruitment) versus ovary-free body weight near the start of spawning for individual females from the 1994 and 1995 cohorts. Graphs of batch fecundity versus ovary-free body weight for the 1994 cohort during four sampling dates. Graphs of batch fecundity versus ovary-free body weight for the 1995 cohort during four sampling dates. Three graphs that depict the mean numbers of recruitment eggs, mature eggs, and total eggs (mature plus recruitment) per gram ovary-free body weight for the 1994 cohort. Three graphs that depict the mean numbers of recruitment eggs, mature eggs, and total eggs (mature plus recruitment) per gram body weight for the 1995 cohort. Curves of relative batch fecundity by sampling period for the 1994 and 1995 cohorts. Comparison of silverside gonadosomatic index curves between males from Virginia (1995, 1996) and previous studies from a 1977 Massachusetts population (Conover 1985) and a 1984 South Carolina population (Sosebee 1991). Comparison of silverside gonadosomatic index curves between females from Virginia (1995, 1996) and previous studies from a 1977 Massachusetts population (Conover 1985) and a 1984 South Carolina population (Sosebee 1991). Comparison of silverside relative batch fecundity between females from Virginia (1995, 1996) and previous studies from a 1977 Massachusetts population (Conover 1985) and a 1984 South Carolina population (Sosebee 1991). A diagram of silverside life history in Virginia. ABSTRACT The Atlantic silverside,Menidia menidia, is one of the most abundant and frequently-occurring fish in seine sampling along the mid-Atlantic coast, yet a comprehensive life-history for this fish has not been written for the region. This study was designed to measure growth, the dynamics of the winter silverside migration to deep water, the potential for size-specific mortality in Virginia, fecundity, and additional gonadal analysis. Additionally, the data were compared with previous studies from Massachusetts and South Carolina. Atlantic silverside collections were made by beach seine at six stations along both the eastern and western coasts of the Virginia segment of the Delmarva Peninsula. Data from the VIMS juvenile finfish trawl survey were used for analysis of the winter migration. Temperatures within the surf zone were found to warm earlier in the Chespaeake Bay than the Atlantic Ocean, suggesting the possibility for enhanced growth within the Chesapeake Bay during the regular growing season. Mean total length was found to reach approximately 80mm by the end of the first season of growth. Evidence was inconclusive regarding winter growth rates and size-specific mortality over the winter months. Predation was tested as a potential cause for size specific mortality, but the analysis did not support this hypothesis. The minimum and maximum dates of silverside spawning were measured in this study as March 27 and July 5, containing six possible semi-lunar spawning dates. Individual silversides were estimated to spawn four times during a spawning season and evidence suggests that they do not survive to reproduce during a second year of spawning. The average number of eggs produced per female was calculated as 4343 eggs/female produced by the 1994 cohort and 4434 eggs/female by the 1995 cohort. Gonadosomatic index and batch fecundity were demonstrated to vary with respect to latitude. Peak GSI and fecundity occurred approximately one month later in Virginia than was previously determined
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