present (Stage 3). Other fish examined at this 

 time were in spawning condition (Stage 4) and 

 contained ovaries with mature yolk-filled oocytes. 

 The peak of spawning activity occurred in mid- 

 summer (July). Most spawning was completed by 

 September as GSI values dropped and numbers of 

 spawning females were fewer (Table 1). Atretic 

 oocytes were common in September near the close 

 of the spawning period when oocytes that failed to 

 complete yolk deposition underwent resorption. 

 They were observed in 67% of my combined 

 1977-78 September samples. 



Rather than maturing and spawning one mode 

 (size class) of eggs at a time, it seems that fe- 

 males reach spawning condition and then release 

 batches of mature eggs throughout the spawning 

 season. This is likely, as no summer females were 

 observed with ovaries in postspawning (partly 

 spent or spent) condition. Instead, C. saturnum 

 oocyte development appears to be a continuous 

 process during the spawning season, as ovaries 

 at all times contained maturing and large num- 

 bers of mature oocytes. I have previously observed 

 this pattern (Goldberg 1976) in G. lineatus and 

 S. politus. 



Postovulatory follicles (transitory remnants of 

 the follicle wall from recently ovulated eggs) were 

 seen in only 2% of my combined 1977-78 July 

 samples. Ovaries containing these structures 

 were in spawning condition. This low percentage 

 is not unexpected in view of their rapid degenera- 

 tion in teleost fishes (Yamamoto and Yoshioka 

 1964; Hunter and Goldberg 1980). 



The spawning cycle of C. saturnum is similar to 

 that of S. politus, namely, April-August (Gold- 

 berg 1976). Spawning in G. lineatus occurs 

 November- April ( Goldberg 1976) and is thus dis- 

 tinctly different from that of C saturnum and 

 S. politus. According to Feder et al. (1974) three 

 other California sciaenids {Atractoscion nobilis, 

 Menticirrhus undulatus, and Roncador stearnsii) 

 are also summer spawners. 



Acknowledgments 



I thank George Thomas (LADWP) for assistance 

 in obtaining specimens. Barbara Delgado, Bar- 

 bara Friedman, and Trang Nguyen (Whittier 

 College) assisted in weighing and measuring 

 specimens. Trang Nguyen assisted with histolog- 

 ical preparations. This study was aided by a 

 Whittier College faculty research grant. 



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 FEDER, H. M., C. H. TURNER, AND C. LIMBAUGH. 



1974. Observations on fishes associated with kelp beds in 

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FiTCH, J. E., AND R. J, LAVENBERG. 



1975. Tidepool and nearshore fishes of California. Univ. 

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GOLDBERG, S. R. 



1976. Seasonal spawning cycles of the sciaenid fishes 

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HUNTER, J. R., AND S. R. GOLDBERG. 



1980. Spawning incidence and batch fecundity in north- 

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1961. Life-history and ecologic notes on the black croaker. 

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1939. The fishes of the family Sciaenidae (croakers) of 

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Stephen r. Goldberg 



Department of Biology 



Whittier College 

 Whittier, CA 90608 



POPULATION GROWTH AND CENSUSES OF 



THE NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL, 



MIROUNGA ANGUSTIROSTRIS, ON THE 



CALIFORNIA CHANNEL ISLANDS, 1958-78 



The northern elephant seal, Mirounga angustiros- 

 tris , has received considerable attention because of 

 its dramatic recovery from near extinction in the 

 late 19th century. Bartholomew and Hubbs (1960) 

 reviewed the chronicle of the species from 1818 to 

 1960 and estimated the total population over its 

 then known range at about 13,000 animals. Since 

 1960, a number of investigators have reported on 

 the reestablishment of elephant seals on progres- 

 sively northern islands and on the size of its breed- 

 ing populations. Such information is now avail- 

 able for the islands of the Pacific coast of North 

 America from Isla Natividad, Baja California, 



562 



fishery BULLETIN: VOL. 79. NO. 3, 1981. 



