Striped mullet, continued 



and Armstrong 1980). Fertilized eggs are spherical, 

 positively buoyant, and non-adhesive. Eggs and lar- 

 vae are generally neustonic. Larvae are planktonic 

 until 1 to 1 2 days from hatching and are then capable 

 of sustained swimming (Kuo et al. 1973, Martin and 

 Drewry 1 978). Pre-juveniles, juveniles, and adults are 

 nektonic and form schools ranging from a few individu- 

 als up to several hundred (Breder 1940, Kilby 1949, 

 Arnold and Thompson 1958, Arnold et al. 1960, 

 Thomson 1966, Hoese and Moore 1977). Activity 

 related to feeding has been recorded during both day 

 and night (Hiatt 1 944, Darnell 1 958, Tabb and Manning 

 1 961 ), although light is believed necessary for school- 

 ing (Thomson 1 966). A Florida study observed diurnal 

 activity (Sogard et al. 1989). 



Habitat 



Ty pe: Striped mullet live in a wide range of habitats and 

 depths depending on life stage, season, and location. 

 It is one of the most abundant fishes in shallow Gulf 

 waters, and often has the highest biomass (Hellier 

 1962). It is most abundant in waters near shore, 

 occupying virtually all shallow marine and estuarine 

 habitats including open beaches, flats, lagoons, bays, 

 rivers, salt marshes, and grass beds (Gunter 1945, 

 Kilby 1949, Breuer 1957, Renfro 1960, Hellier 1962, 

 Franks 1 970, Perret et al 1 971 , Swingle 1 971 , Christ- 

 mas and Waller 1973, Moore 1974, Henley and 

 Rauschuber 1 981 , Cech and Wohlschlag 1 982, Sogard 

 et al. 1989). Spawning occurs near the surface of 

 offshore waters, but larvae sink during post-hatch 

 growth periods (Ditty and Shaw 1996). Eggs and 

 larvae occupy offshore marine habitat where they 

 undergo early development, then as prejuveniles enter 

 the bays and estuaries to mature. This occurs from 

 November to June after they have reached 15 to 32 mm 

 in total length (TL), with the greatest occurrence from 

 December to February (Gunter 1945, Renfro 1960, 

 Hellier 1962, Hoese 1965, Franks 1970, Perret et al. 

 1971, Swingle 1971, Christmas and Waller 1973, 

 Swingle and Bland 1974, Hildebrand and King 1975, 

 Tarver and Savoie 1976, Ward and Armstrong 1980, 

 Nordlie et al. 1982). This species has been reported 

 from fresh to hypersaline waters and from waters with 

 depths of a few centimeters to 1,385 m, but most are 

 collected within 40 m of the surface (Gunter 1945, 

 Breuer 1957, Simmons 1957, Arnold and Thompson 

 1 958, Perret et al. 1 971 , Swingle 1 971 , Christmas and 

 Waller 1973, Moore 1974, Pineda 1975, Finucane et 

 al. 1 978, Martin and Drewry 1 978, Ward and Armstrong 

 1980, Henley and Rauschuber 1981, Cech and 

 Wohlschlag 1982, Cornelius 1984, NOAA 1985). This 

 species appears to prefer depths of <3 m in inshore 

 waters. 



Substrate : The striped mullet prefers softer sediments 

 such as mud and sand which contain decaying organic 



detritus, but it also occurs overfinely ground shell, clay, 

 mud and sand mixtures, silt, and silt-clay mixtures 

 (Kilby 1949, Breuer 1957, Tabb and Manning 1961, 

 Franks 1970, Swingle 1971, Ward and Armstrong 

 1980, Cornelius 1984). In inshore areas, it also fre- 

 quents grass beds of Thalassia and other macro- 

 phytes, especially at night (Thomson 1 966, Zimmerman 



1969, Bishop and Miglarese 1978, Henley and 

 Rauschuber 1 981 ), and has also been observed around 

 patches of Ruppia (Franks 1970). 



Physical/Chemical Characteristics : 

 Temperature - Eggs: Egg development has been 

 recorded over a range of 10° to 31 .9°C in both labora- 

 tory and field observations with the optimum range 

 occurring at 21° to 24°C (Kuo et al. 1973, Nash et al. 

 1 974, Sylvester et al. 1 975, Sylvester and Nash 1 975, 

 Finucane et al. 1978, Ward and Armstrong 1980). 



Temperature - Larvae: Ditty and Shaw (1996) col- 

 lected 1 ,983 larval mullet in the northern Gulf of Mexico, 

 at temperatures ranging from 16.7 to 27.0°C (mean 

 34.4°C). Larval development occurs from 15.9° to 

 29.1 °C, with optimum growth and survival occurring at 

 20° to 22°C (Kuo et al 1 973, Nash et al. 1 974, Sylvester 

 and Nash 1975, Ward and Armstrong 1980). The 

 ability to survive and grow over a broad thermal range, 

 despite the probability of temperatures at spawning 

 sites varying very little, may be a preadaptation to 

 accommodate temperature changes as the larvae sink 

 vertically through the water (Sylvester and Nash 1 975). 

 Pre-juveniles occur at minimum temperatures of 5.0° 

 to 9.0°C up to a maximum exceeding 30°C (Christmas 

 and Waller 1973, Martin and Drewry 1978, Ward and 

 Armstrong 1980). 



Temperature - Juveniles and Adults: Juveniles and 

 adults appear able to adjust to a wide range of tem- 

 peratures (Breuer 1957, Ward and Armstrong 1980). 

 Recorded collections are from 5.9° to 37.0°C, but the 

 ability to withstand short periods of 40°C has been 

 observed (Gunter 1 945, Kilby 1 949, Hellier 1 962, Franks 



1 970, Perret et al. 1 971 , Swingle 1 971 , Dunham 1 972, 

 Moore 1974, Pineda 1975, Tarver and Savoie 1976, 

 Ward and Armstrong 1980). Reported temperature 

 preferences are 20° to 30°C for juveniles, and >16° to 

 30°C for adults (Ward and Armstrong 1980). 



Salinity - Eggs: Striped mullet eggs are stenohaline. 

 Spawning and development are reported to occur at 28 

 to 36.5%o, with optimum egg survival occurring at 30 to 

 33%o (Kuo et al. 1 973, Sylvester et al. 1 975, Finucane 

 et al. 1978, Ward and Armstrong 1980). Eggs have 

 much less tolerance to salinity variation than larvae, 

 but have a greater tolerance to sea water (Sylvester et 

 al. 1975). 



307 



