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Fishery Bulletin 105(4) 



larvae to settled juveniles. The size range examined 

 here (10-188 mm TL) braclcets the interval from late 

 larvae to juveniles. All but four of the 18 morphological 

 characters displayed significant shifts in their relations 

 to total length during the transition from pelagic juve- 

 niles (Table 2). These shifts occurred between 20.1 mm 

 TL (dorsal base length) and 84.1 mm TL (esca length) 

 resulting in a transformation from a laterally com- 

 pressed, pelagic shape to a dorso-ventrally compressed, 

 benthic shape. Eleven of the 14 morphological characters 

 shifted from an allometric (body proportions changing) 

 to isometric (body proportions not changing) growth 

 pattern. Many of the allometric changes in characters 

 that occurred during the pelagic phase were related 

 to the flattening of the head and the reorganization of 

 the dorsal fin, particularly the illicium. Five charac- 

 ters exhibited rapid growth (in relation to total length) 

 during the pelagic phase. These characters were lengths 

 of the dorsal fin base, the second dorsal ray (resulting in 

 the development of the illicium and the esca), the snout 

 (to accommodate the illicium), the esca, and the pectoral 

 fin. Six characters exhibited slow growth (in relation to 

 total length) during the pelagic phase to near isometric 

 growth. These included a decrease in head depth, in 

 orbit diameter, in caudal peduncle length, and in the 

 length of the second dorsal ray. A dramatic reduction 

 also occurred in the predorsal length as the anterior 

 dorsal rays migrate towards the snout. 



For the characters changes, better described as quali- 

 tative transitions (i.e., for changes in pigment, in the 

 development of tubercle and cirri) and scored either 

 as representing a larval (0) or juvenile-adult (1) state 

 (Table 3), the start of such changes began at about 30 

 mm TL and ended at about 120 mm TL. The most 

 dramatic changes occurred between 60 and 80 mm TL. 

 The size range over which changes in fin pigmentation 

 occurred was broader (16-243 mm TL). Although the 

 timing of fin pigmentation may be intrinsically more 

 variable than the other qualitative characters that were 

 scored, the variability in fin pigmentation can also be 

 an artifact of preservation technique. 



As a result of these procedures, the changes in mor- 

 phometric and character state traits (i.e., the changes in 

 the shape from a lateral compressed pelagic larvae with 

 long trailing pelvic fins to a dorsoventrally compressed 

 head and body with much shorter pelvic fins as repre- 

 sented in some published illustrations) were quantified 

 (Fahay, 1983; Caruso, 2002). These general changes in 

 body proportions were found to be similar to those of 

 L. piscatorius (Taning, 1923; Dahlgreen, 1928) and L. 

 budegassa (Stiasny, 1911; Bowman, 1919). 



Several of the specimens evaluated for size-specific 

 character transitions appeared to be at the pelagic juve- 

 nile stage (i.e., they were 21.6, 30.7, and 32.3 mm TL), 

 although they were reportedly collected with benthic 

 sampling gear. We suspect that these individuals were 

 inadvertently collected in the water column because 1) 

 they shared the same morphological and pigmentation 

 characters as other pelagic individuals, 2) they were 

 collected with gear that lacked opening and closing 

 capability and thus the specimens could have been col- 

 lected anywhere in the water column, and 3) the collec- 

 tion data indicated that in each instance the sampling 

 gear spent more time in the water column than it did 

 on the bottom. We therefore treated these individuals, 

 in subsequent analyses, as pelagic juveniles. 



Size and age at early life history events 



The distribution of YOY goosefish was affected to a 

 large degree by the timing and location of reproduction. 

 Along much of the northeast coast of the United States, 

 spawning occurs from spring through early fall (Wood, 

 1982; Hartley, 1995; Caruso, 2002), although exact 

 details of spawning locations are lacking (Steimle et al., 

 1999). Collections during May through July 1996-99 in 

 the surf zone (0-2 m, mean=0.66 individuals/100 m'') 

 and nearshore (6-7 m, mean=0.68 individuals/100 m'^) 

 off northern New Jersey between Long Branch and 

 Manasquan Inlet (Army Corps of Engineers [ACE] study 

 area, Fig. lA) showed densities of larval (3.6-15.6 mm 

 TL, mean 7.6 mm) goosefish to be large in June (peak) 



