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Fishery Bulletin 101(2) 



ian stages is similar to that of studies on Lutjanus vittus, 

 which found the accuracy of macroscopic staging for ripe 

 gonads to be only 61% (CSIRO data, cited in West, 1990). 



Macroscopic staging of tautog ovaries functioned to de- 

 scribe the annual gonad cycle, yet it did not separate the 

 fully developed (stage-3) and partially spent (stage-3a) 

 ovaries. Macroscopic analysis does not yield proof of POFs, 

 atretic oocytes, and macrophage aggregates — cellular 

 structures that help distinguish fully developed, partially 

 spent/redeveloping, spent, and resting females. Thus, mac- 

 roscopic analysis could not provide evidence of multiple 

 spawning in tautog. Histological techniques used in this 

 study were necessary to accurately describe the annual 

 cycle and the inner (multiple spawning) spawning cycle 

 of ovarian development for tautog. Histological staging 

 also permitted identification of fully hydrated ovaries that 

 could then be used for batch fecundity estimation. Further, 

 histology slides were used for point-counting analyses to 

 test for positional differences in development between an- 

 terior, middle, and posterior regions within the ovary. 



Sex ratios 



Sex ratios vary greatly among published studies on tautog 

 life history. This variability may be due to true differences 

 in the composition of local populations, or it may be an arti- 

 fact of sampling strategies rooted in collection seasons or 

 gear biases. In our study, sex ratios were skewed towards 

 females for fish under 400 mm and did not differ signifi- 

 cantly from a l.l ratio for tautog greater than 400 mm. 

 Collections were primarily made by book-and-line angling 



throughout the year, although sample sizes were low 

 between July and September. Hostetter and Munroe ( 1993) 

 found no significant difference in sex ratios for fish less than 

 200 mm, but significantly more males than females for fish 

 between 201-500 mm in Virginia. Their sampling occurred 

 over a period of seven years, and fish were collected primar- 

 ily with fish traps and hook and line. Eklund and Targett 

 (1990) found a female-to-male sex ratio of 0.86:1 in the 

 trap fishery between April and December 1987. Chenoweth 

 (1963) collected more females than males with an otter 

 trawl at three stations in Narragansett Bay, RI, between 

 May and September 1961. Factors that affect sex ratios of 

 tautog from fishery-dependent collections are still unknown 

 and provide an opportunity for further research into the sex 

 ratios and reproductive success of this species. 



Length and age at maturity 



Published reports of tautog length and age at maturity 

 (from studies with macroscopic techniques and GSI) are 

 similar for the entire species range. Estimates of tautog 

 lengths and ages at maturity in our study were similar 

 to results reported by Hostetter and Munroe (1993) for 

 tautog captured off Virginia. Hostetter and Munroe ( 1993) 

 reported that both sexes show evidence of gonadal matu- 

 ration at age 3 in Virginia. Likewise, age and length at 

 maturity for tautog collected in Massachusetts (Stolgitis, 

 1970) are also similar; 40% of age-2 (149-175 mm) males 

 and 87% of age-3 (171-239 mm) males were mature, and 

 females attained 71% maturity at age 3 (187-206 mm) and 

 100% maturity at age 4. In Rhode Island, Cooper (1966) 



