Wilk et 



al  GSI annual cycles as indicators of finfish spawning in the New York Bight 



785 



are not as fecund as larger and more robust gadid 

 species such as Atlantic cod Gadus morhua (Hislop 

 1984). 



A variety of reproductive strategies and tactics are 

 used by the species to adapt to seasonal shifts in en- 

 vironmental parameters in the Middle Atlantic in 

 general and the New York Bight specifically. In this 

 way the entire region is continually used for reproduc- 

 tion by a wide range of economically and ecologically 

 important species of resident and migratory finfish. 

 These spawning adaptations contribute to the high 

 diversity and abundance of finfish found in the Middle 

 Atlantic region. 



Acknowledgments 



We thank the following members of the National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Center, 

 Sandy Hook Laboratory staff: Ms. Alicia Gruber for 

 scientific publication assistance and the typing of 

 numerous drafts; Ms. Michele Cox for preparation of 

 the figures; and Ms. Anne Studholme, Mr. Wallace 

 Smith, and Mr. Anthony Pacheco for review and 

 editing of the manuscript. 



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