Three sparid fishes are common on 

 rubble structures in the South Atlantic 

 Bight: the pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides , 

 the spottail pinfish, Diplodus holbrooki , 

 and the sheepshead, Archosargus 

 probatocephalus . Darcy (1985a, b) 

 reviewed available information on pinfish 

 and spottail pinfish, and Ogburn (1984) 

 investigated feeding by sheepshead on a 

 North Carolina jetty. Despite the common 

 perception that herbivorous fishes are 

 absent from temperate communities (Bakus 

 1964, 1968; Montgomery 1977, 1980; Ogden 

 and Lobel 1978; Montgomery and Gerking 

 1980; Hay 1981b; Gaines and Lubchenco 

 1982), all three of these species can 

 consume large quantities of seaweeds (Carr 

 and Adams 1973; Adams 1976a; Stoner 1980; 

 Ogburn 1984; Stoner and Livingston 1984; 

 Hay 1986; Hay et al . 1987, 1988) and may 

 significantly affect the structure of 

 benthic seaweed communities (see later 

 sections). In addition to seaweeds, 

 sheepshead may consume significant 

 quantities of bivalves and barnacles 

 (Parker et al . 1979; Van Dolah et al . 

 1984). In the Carolinas, spottail pinfish 

 and pinfish are among the most abundant 

 species on jetties. Sheepshead are common 

 but much less abundant (Lindquist et al . 

 1985; Hay 1986; Van Dolah et al . 1986). 



Individuals of all of these species 

 tend to be relatively small on coastal 

 rubble structures compared to the larger 

 individuals that occur on offshore reefs. 

 Young individuals appear to colonize 

 jetties in early spring, grow rapidly 

 throughout the summer, and move to deeper 

 offshore areas as nearshore waters cool in 

 the late fall (Darcy 1985a, b; Lindquist 

 et al. 1985; Van Dolah et al . 1986). In 

 the Carolinas, these fishes are among the 

 major prey species on offshore reefs. 

 Their inshore-to-offshore migrations may 

 be important in transferring energy 

 between productive inshore and deeper 

 offshore habitats (Darcy 1985a, b) . 

 Pinfish occur between Cape Cod and the 

 Yucatan. Spottail pinfish are found 

 between the Chesapeake Bay and the 

 northern Gulf of Mexico. Sheepshead are 

 more widely distributed and occur from 

 Nova Scotia to Brazil (Robins et al . 

 1986). 



Pigfish, Orthopristis chrvsoptera , 

 show seasonality and migratory patterns 



that resemble those of the sparids 

 discussed above. Near Beaufort, NC, 

 offshore migration occurs in late fall or 

 winter. The largest individuals are the 

 first to leave and the first to return in 

 the spring (Hildebrand and Cable 1930). 

 Since individuals returning in the spring 

 appear to be in poor condition due to the 

 less than optimal feeding conditions 

 offshore, pigfish probably migrate to 

 avoid low temperatures rather than to seek 

 better feeding grounds (Darcy 1983). 

 Pigfish are attracted to hard substrate 

 and often school near reefs or jetties 

 (Hastings 1972). They are generalist 

 carnivores, with prey size and type 

 changing as a function of age (Hildebrand 

 and Cable 1930; Carr and Adams 1973). 

 Small fish feed on planktonic crustaceans. 

 Larger fish feed on small fishes, benthic 

 crustaceans, mollusks, polychaetes, and a 

 variety of other invertebrates. Pigfish 

 occur from Massachusetts to the Yucatan. 



Spot, Leiostomus xanthurus , are 

 popular panfish common on jetties during 

 the spring and fall. They are found 

 between Massachusetts and the northern 

 Gulf of Mexico, and eat primarily 

 bivalves, decapods, and smaller 

 crustaceans (Adams 1976a; Van Dolah et al . 

 1986). 



Both black sea bass, Centropristis 

 striata , and tautog, Tautoqa onitis , are 

 abundant predators that reside on coastal 

 jetties. Black sea bass range from Maine 

 to the northern Gulf of Mexico. Tautog 

 occur as far north as Nova Scotia but 

 extend southward only to Georgia (Robins 

 et al. 1986; Gill igan 1987). Both of 

 these species are commonly taken by 

 hook and line and by spear. Lindquist et 

 al. (1985) and Van Dolah et al . (1986) 

 found that tautog consumed primarily 

 jetty-associated bivalves and crustaceans. 

 Black sea bass also consume considerable 

 quantities of crustaceans, but the major 

 portion of their diet is fish and they 

 rarely consume bivalves. Juvenile black 

 sea bass eat a mixed diet of fish, 

 decapods, amphipods, and other benthic 

 invertebrates. As black sea bass increase 

 in size, the proportion of fish in the 

 diet increases consistently (Van Dolah et 

 al. 1986). 



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