Red drum, continued 



(Pearson 1928, Peters and McMichael 1987). 



Biological Interactions 



Predation : Predation on red drum has not been well 

 studied (Killam et al. 1 992). Larvae and juveniles are 

 potential prey items of larger piscivorous fish including 

 larger red drum. Juvenile red drum feeding along the 

 shorelines of mariculture ponds are subject to preda- 

 tion by piscivorous wading birds (Castiglione pers. 

 comm). 



Factors Influencing Populations : Red tides, caused by 

 the blooms of certain dinoflagellates, that occur during 

 the spawning season can affect larval survival rates 

 and possibly impact recruitment of the affected year- 

 class in following years (Riley et al. 1989, Killam et al. 

 1 992). Several organisms are known to parasitize red 

 drum possibly as a consequence of the diverse foods 

 consumed, and these can affect health and mortality 

 (Yokel 1966, Perret et al. 1980, Overstreet 1983, 

 Landsberg 1993). Known parasites include: Sporozo- 

 ans- Hennequya ocellata; Parvicapsula renalis, Trema- 

 todes- unidentified; Cestodes- Poecilan cistrium 

 robustum (known as spaghetti worm) infecting muscles 

 and often resulting in fish being discarded by fisher- 

 men; Copepods, which parasitize red drum the most 

 heavily, include- Brachiella qulosa, B. intermedia, 

 Echetus typicus, Lernaennicus radiatus, Caliqus 

 latifrons, C. repax, C. bonito, C. elongatus, C. 

 haemulonis, and Lernanthropus paenulatus, 

 Lernaennicus affixus; Isopods- Nerocila sp. (Simmons 

 1 957, Yokel 1 966, Perret et al. 1 980, Hein and Shepard 

 1986b, Landsberg etal. 1991, Landsberg 1993); Bar- 

 nacles- Balanus improvisus, are known to attach to the 

 flanks of red drums (Overstreet 1 983). The destruction 

 of estuarine nursery habitat utilized by late larval and 

 juvenile stages, as well as growth overfishing and 

 recruitment overfishing, are thought to have a serious 

 impact on red drum (NMFS 1986). 



Personal communications 



Castiglione, Marie C. NOAA NMFS SEFSC Galveston 

 Lab., Galveston, TX. 



Swingle, Wayne. Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

 Council, Tampa, FL. 



References 



Adkins, G., J. Tarver, P. Bowman, and B. Savoie. 

 1979. A study of the coastal finfish in coastal Louisi- 

 ana. Louis. Dept. Wildl. Fish. Tech. Bull. No. 29, 87 p. 



Arnold, C.R., W.H. Bailey, T.D. Williams, A. Johnson, 

 and J.L. Lasswell. 1979. Laboratory spawning and 

 larval rearing of red drum and southern flounder. Proc. 

 Ann. Conf . Southeast Assoc. Fish Wildl. Agen. 31 :437- 

 440. 



Arnold, E.L, Jr., R.S. Wheeler, and K.N. Baxter. 1 960. 

 Observations on fishes and other biota of East Lagoon, 

 Galveston Island. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Spec. Sci. 

 Rep.-Fish. No. 344, p. 1-30. 



Barret, B.B., J.L. Merrell, T.P. Morrison, M.C. Gillespie, 

 E.J. Ralph, and J.F. Burdon. 1978. A study of 

 Louisiana's major estuaries and adjacent offshore 

 waters. Louis. Dept. Wildl. Fish., Tech. No. 27, 197 p. 



Bass, R.J., and J.W. Avault, Jr. 1975. Food habits, 

 length-weight relationship, condition factor, and growth 

 of juvenile red drum, Sciaenops ocellata, in Louisiana. 

 Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 104(1):35-45. 



Beaumariage, D.S. 1969. Returns from the 1965 

 Schlitz tagging program including a cumulative analy- 

 sis of previous results. Fla. Dept. Nat. Res. Tech. Ser. 

 No. 59. 



Beckman, D.W., C.A. Wilson, and A.L. Stanley. 1 988. 

 Age and growth of red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, from 

 offshore waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Fish. 

 Bull., U.S. 87:17-28. 



Benson, N.G., (ed.). 1982. Life history requirements 

 of selected finfish and shellfish in Mississippi Sound 

 and adjacent areas. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep., 

 FWS/OBS-81/51,97p. 



Bonin, R.E. 1977. Juvenile marine fishes of Harbor 

 Island, Texas. M.S. thesis, Texas A&M Univ., College 

 Station, TX, 109 p. 



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