652 



Fishery Bulletin 94(4). 1996 



tinental versus insular populations of snappers. Ver- 

 milion snapper in this study had a spawning season 

 similar to many other continental populations of 

 snappers as reviewed by Grimes (1987). 



Grimes ( 1987) suggested that restricted spawning 

 in continental species may be linked to the produc- 

 tion cycle of the environment. Off the southeastern 

 United States, upwelling occurs year-round, but it 

 increases dramatically in spring and summer as the 

 Gulf Stream moves farther offshore, allowing deep 

 waters to upwell near the shelf break (Atkinson et 

 al., 1985; Mathews and Pashuk, 1986). Topographic 

 features in this area (i.e. the Charleston Bump) also 

 cause upwelling events that bring nutrient-rich bot- 

 tom water to the shelf areas (Mathews and Pashuk, 

 1986). Periodic meanders and eddies from the Gulf 

 Stream add to the mechanism in which productivity 

 of the shelf increases over the summer months. Phy- 

 toplankton blooms develop rapidly within the sur- 

 face nutrient-rich water (Atkinson et al., 1984), 

 thereby providing a large food source for larval and 

 juvenile fishes. Spawning during this time of high 

 productivity maximizes the survival of the larvae and 

 juveniles of many of the reef fishes of the southeast- 

 ern United States. 



Acknowledgments 



We thank the following people for assistance: B. 

 Custer, K. Grimball, S. B. Van Sant, and D. B. White 

 helped with the collection and preparation of 

 samples; O. Pashuk assisted with gonad histology; 

 P. J. Harris and D. J. Machowski provided statisti- 

 cal and data management assistance; J. C. McGovern 

 and B. Zhao provided ages for vermilion snapper 

 otoliths; M. R. Collins, C. K. Biernbaum, and B. Zhao 

 reviewed drafts of the manuscript; and B. Macewicz 

 provided valuable advice. This project was supported 

 by the National Marine Fisheries Service (South 

 Carolina MARMAP contract 50WCNF006002, G. R. 

 Sedberry and J. C. McGovern, Principal Investiga- 

 tors), the Sport Fishing Institute (SFRP93-21, N. 

 Cuellar and G. R. Sedberry, Principal Investigators), 

 and the Slocum-Lunz Foundation. This paper evolved 

 from a thesis submitted by the first author in par- 

 tial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Science at 

 the University of Charleston, South Carolina. 



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