SHLOSSMAN and CHITTENDEN: REPRODUCTION OF SAND SEATROUT 



Table 4.— Total weight-total length, total length-girth, and standard lenglh-lolal length regres.sion.s for C. arenarius with 

 supporting statistics. All regressions were significant at a = 0.05. Measurements are grams and millimeters. 



eral workers including Welsh and Breder 1923; 

 Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928; Nesbit 1954) or 

 with two peak periods about June and July 

 (Daiber 1957 and Harmic 1958 cited in Thomas 

 1971); 2) mature at 160-230 mm TL (130-190 mm 

 SL) and spawn at age I throughout their range 

 (Merriner 1976), the validity of which might be 

 reexamined for the New York Bight, because 

 females in Delaware Bay first spawn at age III-IV 

 when fish average 280-330 mm TL (Welsh and 

 Breder 1923); 3) more or less commonly reached 

 maximum weights of 4.54-7.72 kg (10-17 lb) or 

 more (Welsh and Breder 1923; Wilk 1979), 

 maximum lengths of about 400-600 mm TL or 

 more (Welsh and Breder 1923; Hildebrand and 

 Schroeder 1928; Nesbit 1954; Perlmutter et al. 

 1956), and average long enough to support impor- 

 tant commercial food fisheries (Nesbit 1954; 

 Perlmutter et al. 1956; Joseph 1972; Merriner 

 1973); 4) commonly reach or once reached ages of 

 3-7 yr (Welsh and Breder 1923; Nesbit 1954; 

 Perlmutter et al. 1956; Massmann 1963; Wilk 

 1979), although Massmann (1963) described a 

 long-term reduction in size and presumably age 

 composition in Chesapeake Bay; 5) have total an- 

 nual mortality rates of 48-73% (Nesbit 1954; 

 Massmann 1963; Merriner 1973) which agree with 

 theoretical estimates of 48-68% for lifespans of 4-7 

 yr assuming negative exponential survivorship; 

 and 6) reach 170-220 mm TL (143-180 mm SL) at 

 age I (Thomas 1971, table 13; Merriner 1973, table 

 2.23), although reported growth varies and ages 

 may be questionable (Merriner 1973; Wilk 1979). 

 Although less has been published from south of 

 Cape Hatteras, it appears that those C. regalis 

 generally 1) spawn from March through August 

 with a peak about March- June (Hildebrand and 

 Cable 1934; Mahood 1974; Merriner 1976), al- 

 though a second smaller peak may occur in July- 

 August (Merriner 1976); 2) mature at 160-230 mm 

 TL and spawn at age I throughout their range 



(Merriner 1976); 3) are much smaller than more 

 northern fish, because few have been reported 

 much >350-375 mm TL (unpubl. data of Anderson 

 from 1930 to 1932 in Mahood 1974, fig. 11; Wolff 

 1972; Hoese 1973; Mahood 1974; Wenner«); 4) 

 commonly reach ages of only 2-3 yr (Wolff 1972; 

 Merriner 1973: data from Morehead City, N.C., fig. 

 2.7) although age IV fish were common in Pamlico 

 Sound at Hatteras, N.C. (Merriner 1973, fig. 2.7); 

 5) have total annual mortality rates of 48-73% 

 (Merriner 1973), which might be too low if 

 maximum age typically is 2-3 yr; and 6) average 

 180-195 mm TL ( 150-160 mm SL) at age I ( Merriner 

 1973, table 2.11). 



The preceding comparisons indicate typical 

 maximum sizes and ages of C. regalis differ north 

 and south of Cape Hatteras, and this suggests 

 different total annual mortality rates. New York 

 Bight fish might be older at maturity than fish 

 south of Cape Hatteras, although Merriner (1976) 

 felt they matured at age I throughout their range. 

 Although C. regalis migrates north-south and 

 stocks need study, tagging (Nesbit 1954) indicated 

 that North Carolina does not contribute much to 

 New York Bight catches at least. Therefore, 

 movements should not affect the basic conclusion 

 of zoogeographic change in population dynamics 

 at Cape Hatteras. Large C. regalis do appear near 

 Cape Hatteras at times as Pearson (1932) and 

 Merriner (1973, fig. 2.7, data from Hatteras) ob- 

 served, but these may be from northern stocks that 

 had moved south (Pearson 1932). 



Zoogeographic changes in the life history and 

 population dynamics of C. regalis support the 

 suggestion (White and Chittenden 1977) that 

 species widely distributed along the east coast of 

 the United States may show marked change in life 



8E. Wenner, Assistant Marine Scientist, South Carolina De- 

 partment of Wildlife and Marine Resources, P.O. Box 12559, 

 Charleston, SC 29400, pers. commun. August 1980. 



665 



