609 



Abstract— Ago, size, abundance, and 

 birthdaU' distributions were compared 

 for larval Atlantic menhaden (Brevoor- 

 tia tyrannus) collected weekly during 

 their estuarine recruitment seasons 

 in 1989-90, 1990-91, and 1992-93 in 

 lower estuaries near Beaufort, North 

 Carolina, and Tuckcrton, New Jersey, 

 to determine the source of these larvae. 

 Larval recruitment in New Jersey ex- 

 tended for 9 months beginning in Octo- 

 ber but was discontinuous and was 

 punctuated by periods of no catch that 

 were associated with low water temper- 

 atures. In North Carolina, recruitment 

 was continuous for 5-6 months begin- 

 ning in November Total yearly larval 

 density in North Carolina was higher 

 (15-39x) than in New Jersey for each 

 of the 3 years. Larvae collected in North 

 Carolina generally grew faster than 

 larvae collected in New Jersey and were, 

 on average, older and larger Birthdate 

 distributions (back-calculated from sag- 

 ittal otolith ages) overlapped between 

 sites and included many larvae that 

 were spaw ned in winter Early spawned 

 (through October) larvae caught in 

 the New Jersey estuary were prob- 

 ably spawned off New Jersey. Larvae 

 spawned later (November-April) and 

 collected in the same estuary were 

 probably from south of Cape Hatteras 

 because only there are winter water 

 temperatures warm enough (>16°Cl 

 to allow spawning and larval develop- 

 ment. The percentage contribution of 

 these late-spawned larvae from south 

 of Cape Hatteras were an important, 

 but variable fraction (10% in 1992-93 

 to 9,T7( in 1989-90) of the total number 

 of larvae recruited to this New Jersey 

 estuary. Thus, this study provides evi- 

 dence that some B. tyrannus spawned 

 south of Cape Hatteras may reach New 

 Jersey estuarine nurseries. 



Recruitment of larval Atlantic menhaden 

 (Brevoortia tyrannus) to North Carolina and 

 New Jersey estuaries: evidence for larval transport 

 northward along the east coast of the United States* 



Stanley M. Warlen 



Center lor Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research 



National Ocean Service, NCAA 



Beaufort Laboratory 



101 Pivers Island Road 



Beaufort, North Carolina 28516-9722 



Kenneth W. Able 



Marine Field Station 



Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences 



Rutgers University 



800 Great Bay Boulevard 



Tuckerton, New Jersey 08087 



Elisabeth H. Laban 



Center For Coastal Fishenes and Habitat Research 



National Ocean Service, NOAA 



Beaufort Laboratory 



101 Pivers Island Road 



Beaufort, North Carolina 28516-9722 



E-mail address (for E H Laban, contact author): Elisabeth Labamainoaa gov 



Manuscript accepted 23 January 2002. 

 Fish. Bull. 100:609-623 (2002). " 



The larvae of some species of fishes 

 that spawn in the South Atlantic Bight 

 (SAB; Cape Hatteras, North Caro- 

 hna to Cape Canaveral, Florida) are 

 transported northward to the Middle 

 Atlantic Bight (MAB; Cape Cod, Mas- 

 sachusetts to Cape Hatteras, North 

 Carolina) where they eventually use 

 estuaries as juvenile nurseries. Kendall 

 and Walford ( 1979) first suggested that 

 spring-spawned bluefish, Pomatomus 

 saltatrix, from the SAB are trans- 

 ported several hundreds of kilometers 

 northward where they eventually enter 

 estuaries in the MAB (Hare and Cowen, 

 1996). Nyman and Conover (1988) and 

 McBride and Conover (1991) used oto- 

 lith analyses to confirm the presence of 

 a spring-spawned component from the 

 SAB in the juvenile bluefish population 

 in MAB estuaries. The larvae of several 

 other species from more southerly areas 

 are also expatriated to the MAB (Hare 

 and Cowen, 1991; Cowen et al., 1993; 

 McBride and Able, 1998). Tropical and 

 subtropical planktonic invertebrates 

 are also known to occur in the MAB 



(Cox and Wiebe, 1979). Some seemingly 

 unusual occurrences of Atlantic men- 

 haden larvae in New Jersey during the 

 winter suggested that the same pattern 

 might occur for this species. 



Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyran- 

 nus, is a clupeid that migrates along 

 the coast from the Gulf of Maine to 

 Florida and adults spawn throughout 

 this range. Studies (summarized in 

 Warlen, 1994; Epifanio and Garvine, 

 2001) have shown that this species 

 spawns off New England from late 

 spring into summer and again in 

 early fall, off the mid-Atlantic states 

 in spring and fall, and in the SAB from 

 October to March. Maximum numbers 

 of Atlantic menhaden probably spawn 

 during winter in offshore waters south 

 of Cape Hatteras (Reintjes, 1969; 

 Judy and Lewis, 1983) and North 

 Carolina waters are likely one of the 



* Contribution 2002-04 of the Institute of 

 Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers Uni- 

 versity, Tuckerton, New Jersey 08087. 



