DeMARTINI and FOUNTAIN: OVARIAN CYCLING FREQUENCY IN QUEENFISH 



Table 4. — Agreement between queenfish ovaries classified as 

 hydrated or nonhydrated using external (gross) appearance and 

 histological (microscopic) techniques.' 



'n = 113 ovary pairs scored as (non)hydrated prior to fixation, staining, 

 sectioning, and microscopic examination. 



Table 5. — Frequency occurrence of queenfish ovaries in 

 hydrated condition' as percent of all ovaries from adult sample 

 fish^ collected March-August 1979. The 95'7c confidence inter- 

 vals on the percentage of hydrated females are indicated 

 in parentheses. 



' Classified based on gross characteristics of ovaries. 



^Four net haul samples (daytime. 5-11 m) collected on 1 d cruise each week 

 during 22 (Vlarch-20 August 1979. 



^Calculations based on normal-log negative binomial distribution (Zweifel 

 and Smith in press). 



fecundity on body size neither varied in slope (F 

 = 1.49; 2,136 df; P>0.25) nor in intercept (F = 

 0.50; 2,138 df; P>0.75). Data were thus pooled 

 over the entire 6-mo season and the general 

 fecundity-length relation described by the best fit 

 {R^ = 0.664, n = 142, P< 0.01) equation 



logio F = 3.3809 logio SL - 3.1455 



where F = batch fecundity 



SL = standard length in millimeters. 



Fecundity was better correlated (R^ = 0.816, n = 

 42) with body weight (Figure 7) than with length 

 of female (Figure 6), as described by the equation 



logio F = 1.302 logio W + 1.968 



where W = ovary-free weight in grams. 



2.0 



2.1 2.2 2.3 



LoG,o Standard Length in mm 



2.4 



FIGURE 6. — Relation between the common logarithms of batch 

 fecundity (as the number of hydrating oocytes) and length of 

 queenfish collected during the first, middle, and latter third of 

 the 1979 spawning season. Regression equations are least 

 squares best fit. 



The length-weight relation was tightly correlated 

 {R"^ — 0.986, n = 175) according to the equation 



logio W - 3.1105 logic SL - 5.0560. 



The average-sized (14 cm, 42 g) female had a 

 potential batch fecundity during 1979 of 12,000- 

 13,000 eggs. Batch fecundities ranged from about 

 5,000 eggs in a 10.5 cm female to about 90,000 eggs 

 in a 25 cm fish. 



Table 6. 



-Relation between adult sex ratio (females/total adults) of samples and percent frequency occurrence of female 



queenfish containing hydrated' eggs. 



'Classified based on external characteristics of ovaries. 



2 From four to six net haul samples (daytime, 5-11 m) examined each week during 22 March-20 August 1979. 



553 



