o 

 o 

 o 



o 

 o 



Q 



z 



O 

 ID 



Figure 2. — Relationship between fecun- 

 dity and fisii weight for Atlantic croaker 

 collected in 1973 and 1974. 



18 



17 



16 



15 



14 



13 



12 



11 



10 



9 



8 



7 



6 



5 



4 



3 



2 



1 



F = -29,175 + 1,624W 



r =0.89 



n = 113 



Sy X =143,755 



75 150 225 300 375 450 525 600 675 750 825 900 975 1050 

 FISH WEIGHT Igl 



The correlation coefficients for the relationships 

 of fecundity to length, weight, and ovary weight 

 show ovary weight was most closely associated 

 with the variation of fecundity. Unless the ovaries 

 are selected, however, ovary weight is the least 

 reliable predictor of fecundity. It is the most vari- 

 able parameter and, unless ovaries are collected at 

 the penultimate development stage, the relation- 

 ship of ovary weight and fecundity will vary sea- 

 sonally. Fish weight will also vary seasonally and, 

 when ovary weight is included with fish weight, 

 some autocorrelation is present. For general pre- 

 diction of fecundity, length appears to be the most 

 reliable measure. 



Acknowledgments 



I wish to thank the many people who helped 

 collect samples during National Marine Fisheries 

 Service cruises and S. J. Wilk and W. G. Smith for 



194 



their critical reviews of early drafts. Special 

 thanks to M. Montone for her assistance and typ- 

 ing of this manuscript and to M. Cox for prepara- 

 tion of the figures. 



Literature Cited 



Bagenal, T. B. 



1957. The breeding and fecundity of the long rough dab 

 Hippoglossoides platessoides (Fabr.) and the associated 

 cycle in condition. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 36:339-375. 



Chad, L. N. 



1978. A basis for classifying western Atlantic Sciaenidae 

 (Teleostei: Perciformes). U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA 

 Tech. Rep. NMFS Circ. 415, 64 p. 

 CHAO, L. N., and J. A. MUSICK. 



1977. Life history, feeding habits, and functional mor- 

 phology of juvenile sciaenid fishes in the York River es- 

 tuary, Virginia. Fish. Bull., U.S. 75:657-702. 

 FINNEY, D. J. 



1971. Probit analysis. 3ded. Camb. Univ. Press, Lond., 

 333 p. 



