Milton and Blaber: Sexual maturity and spawning of tuna baitfish in the Solomon Islands 



231 



negative tide range, cloud cover, and negative zoo- 

 plankton biomass. When the number of variables were 

 reduced (Table 5), wind and days of rain at Vona Vona 

 and temperature at Tulagi were also significant (P< 

 0.05). Among samples from months where spawning 



had been detected, moon phase and days of rain showed 

 the best fit. 



There was significant positive correlation between 

 spawning of S. lewisi and zooplankton biomass and 

 days since rain at Munda (Table 4). Lower temperature, 



