Sheepshead, continued 



Life Mode 



Eggs are buoyant, and spawning typically occurs over 

 the inner continental shelf. Larvae are pelagic. Juve- 

 niles and adults are demersal omnivores, and prefer 

 "live hard-bottomed areas." This fish does not school, 

 but may form feeding aggregations (Johnson 1978, 

 Lee et al. 1980, Sedberry 1987). 



Habitat 



Type : Eggs are typically marine, in coastal waters of 

 the inner continental shelf. Larvae are known to be 

 present in the Gulf of Mexico January through May, 

 with peak abundance February through April (Ditty 

 1986, Ditty et al. 1988). Larvae are pelagic as they 

 move into estuaries, then become estuarine-depen- 

 dent and associated with seagrass beds. The pelagic 

 stage probably lasts until larvae are about 30 to 40 

 days old when metamorphosis into juveniles occurs. 

 After metamorphosis, juveniles "settle out," becoming 

 substrate-oriented, then move to nearshore reefs as 

 they mature (Sedberry 1987, Parsons and Peters 

 1989). Both juveniles and adults are demersal. Adults 

 occur in nearshore waters over "live bottom" areas. 



Substrate : Juveniles are usually associated with grass 

 beds until they are around 50 mm, then they move into 

 the more typical adult habitats (McClane 1 964, Dugas 



1970, Lee et al. 1980, Juneau and Pollard 1981). 

 Adults occur around oyster beds, shallow muddy bot- 

 toms, Spartina marshes, piers and rocks, and jetties. 

 They can also be found in some abundance in bare 

 sand surf zones feeding on infaunal bivalves and 

 crustaceans (Shipp 1988). 



Physical/Chemical Characteristics 

 Temperature: Optimal growth in captivity has been 

 reported at around 25°C (Tucker 1989). Juveniles 

 have been collected in temperatures ranging from 8.0 

 to 29.6° C (Wang and Raney 1971, Pineda 1975, 

 Jennings 1985). Temperature tolerance in adults 

 ranges from 5° (Christmas and Waller 1973, Perret et 

 al. 1971) to 35.1° C (Roessler 1970). 



Salinity: The sheepshead is euryhaline (Gunter 1956) 

 with collection sites ranging in salinities from to 45%o 

 (Simmons 1 957, Kelly 1 965, Dugas 1 970, Perret et al. 



1971, Wang and Raney 1971, Dunham 1972, Perret 

 and Caillouet 1974, Juneau 1975, Tarver and Savoie 

 1 976, Benson 1 982). Larvae have been collected from 

 5.0 to 24.9%o (Christmas and Waller 1 973). Juveniles 

 and adults are found in salinities from nearly fresh 

 (0.26%o) to 43.8%o (Herald and Strickland 1 948, Gunter 

 and Hall 1965, Lee et al. 1980, Loftus and Kushlan 

 1987). 



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