carapace length of lobsters averaged 

 around 73 mm (2.9 in). However, 

 during the closed season and at the 

 beginning of the harvest, carapace 

 length showed a noticeable increase, 

 suggesting a very distinct cropping 

 effect. This is especially signifi- 

 cant when combined with the finding 

 that the greatest contribution to 

 spawning comes from the 81 to 85 mm 

 (3.2 to 3.4 in) size class of fe- 

 males. The authors estimate that 

 spawning was only about 12% of that 

 which could be expected from a com- 

 parable sized, unharvested popula- 

 tion of larger lobsters. 



Mating and reproduction in the 

 Florida lobster population is appar- 

 ently restricted to the ocean-side 

 of the Keys (Davis 1977, Lyons et 

 al. 1981). Females generally out- 

 number males 1.2:1 with significant- 

 ly more females at the deeper reef 

 sites. It is unknown how much of 

 this disparity in sex ratio is due 

 to fishing restrictions which favor 

 the taking of males. The smallest 

 berried female reported by Lyons et 

 al. (1981) was 65 mm (2.6 in). The 

 majority of mating activity (88%) 

 was restricted to deeper waters 

 where carapace lengths averaged 80.1 

 mm (3.1 in) as opposed to an average 

 of 65.6 mm (2.6 in) at shallow bay 

 sites. In general, the upper Keys 

 appeared more productive for lob- 

 sters than the middle Keys. 



9.33 FISHES 



The most complete fish faunal 

 studies in the Florida Keys are 

 those by Longley and Hildebrand 

 (1941) for the Dry Tortugas, and by 

 Starck (1968) for Alligator Reef and 

 vicinity (off the Matecumbe Keys). 

 The former study identified 440 

 species from several reefs despite 

 the primitive sampling techniques 

 employed prior to the advent of 

 SCUBA and effective fish toxicants. 

 The latter study (Stark 1968), 



because of the sampling techniques 

 employed and the intensity and long- 

 evity of the sampling program, is 

 considered the most thorough study 

 of a limited reef area done anywhere 

 in the world (Gilbert 1972). The 

 517 species collected include 389 

 members of the reef community, typi- 

 cally found from the shoreline to a 

 depth of 45 m (148 ft). The remain- 

 ing species consist of demersal, 

 deeper water species, offshore pela- 

 gic forms, or transients from adja- 

 cent inshore areas (e.g., Florida 

 Bay). Starck (1968) further divid- 

 ed the 389 reef fishes into two 

 groups: (1) primary reef species 

 (253 species) that are exclusively 

 associated with the reef; and (2) 

 secondary reef species which al- 

 though normally associated with the 

 reef, are also characteristic of 

 other habitats within the Florida 

 Keys marine environment, e.g., bar- 

 ren sand bottom, seagrasses, and 

 so on. 



Starck (1968) considers the 

 fish fauna of the Floria Keys to be 

 wholly tropical, noting that only 7 

 of 389 reef tract inhabitats were 

 not recorded elsewhere in the West 

 Indies. Since then, at least one of 

 these seven species have been iden- 

 tified in other areas of the West 

 Indies (Gilbert 1972). Differences 

 between Bahamian and Florida Keys 

 fauna are related to environmental 

 factors other than temperature, 

 quite possibly turbidity and to some 

 extent biogeographical barriers. 

 However, both Starck (1968) and 

 Robins (1971) stress that the bio- 

 geographical restriction is limited 

 to small species with limited abil- 

 ity to travel and little or no 

 apparent pelagic larval period. 

 Consequently, both investigators 

 suggest that the differences in 

 faunal composition between reefs 

 in the West Indies are primarily 

 environmental rather than biogeo- 

 graphical. 



209 



