LAUTH: CABEZON IN PUGET SOUND, WA 



that cabezon in California spawned more than once. 

 Evidence from this study also strongly suggests that 

 sexually mature female cabezon spawn more than 

 once during a single spawning season. Species with 

 protracted spawning seasons characteristically 

 spawn more than once per season compared with 

 species with relatively short spawning seasons which 

 spawn only once (Qasim 1956). 



Another strong indication of multiple spawning 

 is the presence of two distinct modes of yolked 

 oocytes in ovaries. A second mode was present both 

 in females about to spawn, and in females which had 

 spawned at least once. An intermediate mode con- 

 sisting of vitellogenic oocytes suggests that females 

 are capable of spawning more than once in a single 

 season (Goldberg 1981). It does not appear that the 

 intermediate generation of yolked eggs are retained 

 for the following season, because cabezon ovaries 

 undergo resorption in the fall (Stage VIII) prior to 

 beginning another cycle the following season (Stage 

 I; Fig. 31). 



Interestingly, after March 1985, all females cap- 

 tured had spawned at least once. The ovaries of all 

 females captured between March and September 

 were either in the process of bringing another batch 

 of eggs to maturity, or in the process of resorption. 

 Multiple spawning is a possible explanation for the 

 absence of females with ovaries in the unspawned 

 condition during the March to September period. 



Multiple spawning is also a logical explanation for 

 the relatively low WGSI value for cabezon ovaries 

 with yolked and unhydrated eggs (Stage III). 

 Gunderson and Dygert (1988) showed a relation 

 between "reproductive effort" (WGSI) and natural 

 mortality (M) in numerous species of marine fish 

 (r^ = 0.81). The higher the natural mortality (M), 

 the shorter the longevity (<(, fn ) of the species and 

 thus the greater the "reproductive effort" invested 

 in any given year. The two extremes cited were the 

 northern anchovy (M = 0.92, io.oi = 6 years, WGSI 

 = 0.65) and dogfish (M = 0.09, <ooi = 57 years, 

 WGSI = 0.04). Since few cabezon probably live past 

 20 years (O'Connell 1953; Lauth 1987), one would 

 expect their respective WGSI to fall somewhere 

 between the northern anchovy and dogfish. The very 

 low cabezon WGSI is therefore consistent with 

 multiple spawning, since it should theoretically be 

 higher than dogfish, which it is, but only if multiple 

 spawning is taken into consideration. 



Batch fecundities predicted from regressions 

 on weight and length ranged between 66,000 and 

 152,000 eggs for females from 2.5 kg to 10.5 kg 

 and between 57,000 and 137,000 eggs for females 

 from 500 mm to 775 mm. O'Connell (1953) also 



found a linear relationship between total weight of 

 females and batch fecundity. Batch fecundities for 

 cabezon greater than 2.7 kg were slightly higher for 

 combined unspawned and spawned females from 

 California and ranged from 48,700 to 96,700 eggs 

 for females between 1.4 kg and 4.6 kg (O'Connell 

 1953). 



Of course, total fecundity of cabezon depends on 

 spawning frequency. The number of times a female 

 actually spawns may depend on a host of biotic and 

 abiotic factors such as food availability and water 

 temperature. The intermediate mode may represent 

 a reserve of eggs that a female can spawn within 

 a single season. The actual number of times a female 

 spawns and the number of eggs released each time, 

 however, may ultimately depend on the amount of 

 energy allotted for reproduction given the prevail- 

 ing physical and biological conditions. In smaller 

 females, more of the energy would be utilized for 

 growth or basic metabolic needs, hence, less energy 

 would be available for egg production. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



I am especially grateful to many friends and div- 

 ing partners who assisted in the fieldwork. Thanks 

 also to Bruce Miller, Bob Donnelly, Don Gunderson, 

 Tom Quinn, and two anonymous reviewers for sug- 

 gestions and critiques which helped improve this 

 manuscript. 



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