Abstract.- Spawning patterns, 

 larval distribution, and juvenile growth 

 characteristics were examined for 

 tautog Tautoga onitis in New Jersey 

 and the Mid- Atlantic Bight. We ana- 

 lyzed data from plankton surveys 

 (1972-1990) over the continental 

 shelf and in the Great Bay-Mullica 

 River estuarine system. Data on size 

 and abundance of juveniles were 

 derived from throw trap and trawl 

 collections in New Jersey estuaries 

 (1988-89). In addition, we validated 

 the daily deposition of otolith incre- 

 ments and used increment counts to 

 estimate juvenile age and growth 

 patterns. Extensive egg and larval 

 collections indicated that spawning 

 occurs from April through Septem- 

 ber, with a peak in June and July. 

 Spawning over the continental shelf 

 is concentrated off Long Island and 

 Rhode Island. Based on validated 

 daily increments in sagittal otoliths 

 and the formation of a well-defined 

 settlement mark, tautog larvae spend 

 about 3 weeks in the plankton. Both 

 spawning and settlement occur over 

 a prolonged period, based on otolith 

 back-calculations. Three methods of 

 estimating young-of-the-year growth 

 rates, including length-frequency 

 progressions, otolith age/fish-size 

 comparisons, and direct measure- 

 ment of growth in caging experi- 

 ments, indicated an average growth 

 rate of about 0.5 mm/day during the 

 peak midsummer growing season. 

 Length-frequency distributions sug- 

 gested tautog reach a modal size of 

 about 75 mm SL after their first sum- 

 mer, and 155 mm by the end of their 

 second summer. 



Early life history of the 

 tautog Tautoga onitis 

 in the Mid-Atlantic Bight* 



Susan M. Sogard 



Marine Field Station, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences 

 Rutgers University, Great Bay Boulevard, Tuckerton, New Jersey 08087 

 Present address: Hatfield Marine Science Center 

 Oregon State University, Newpori:, Oregon 97365 



Kenneth W. Able 



Marine Field Station, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences 



Rutgers University, Great Bay Boulevard, Tuckerton, New Jersey 08087 



Michael P. Fahay 



Sandy Hook Laboratory, Nori:heast Fisheries Science Center 



National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Highlands, New Jersey 07732 



The tautog Tautoga onitis is one of 

 two labrid wrasses common along the 

 northeast coast of the United States 

 (the other is the cunner Tautogola- 

 brus adspersus). Tautog occur in 

 coastal areas from Nova Scotia to 

 South Carolina, but are abundant 

 only from Cape Cod to the Delaware 

 Capes (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953). 

 Adult tautog form a minor compo- 

 nent of local commercial fisheries and 

 a major component of the recrea- 

 tional catch. They reach a maximum 

 size of about 90 cm and 10 kg (Bige- 

 low and Schroeder 1953), and an age 

 of 34 years (Cooper 1967). Large 

 juveniles and adults depend on young 

 mussels Mytilus edulis for food (011a 

 et al. 1974), and the diet of recently- 

 settled juveniles consists primarily of 

 copepods and amphipods (Grover 

 1982). Spawning takes place from 

 May to August, with a peak in June 

 (Kuntz and Radcliffe 1918, Colton et 

 al. 1979, Eklund and Targett 1990). 

 Egg and larval development are de- 

 scribed in detail by Kuntz and Rad- 

 cliffe (1918) and Williams (1967); ad- 

 ditional information on life history is 



Manuscript accepted 20 May 1992. 

 Fishery Bulletin, U.S. 90:529-539 (1992). 



' Contribution 92-07 of the Rutgers University 

 Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences. 



presented in Auster (1989). 



Both juvenile and adult tautog are 

 dependent on habitats with structure 

 or cover, which presumably aids in 

 protection from predators (011a et al. 

 1974 and 1979, 011a and Studholme 

 1975). Tautogs typically become qui- 

 escent at night, resting in association 

 with some type of shelter (011a et al. 

 1974). Smaller fish (subadults <25 

 cm) may range only a few meters 

 from that shelter during daytime ac- 

 tivity, while larger individuals (adults 

 >30cm) cover a broader area for 

 foraging, returning to the same gen- 

 eral shelter area at night (011a et al. 

 1974). 



Declining water temperatures in 

 the fall trigger an offshore migration 

 of adults (age 4-1-). An increase in 

 schooling behavior and night activity 

 also occurs (011a et al. 1980), perhaps 

 related to migratory activity. Labor- 

 atory studies indicate that adults at- 

 tain a dormant state at temperatures 

 <5°C. Juveniles (age 2-3) also be- 

 come torpid in winter, but they re- 

 main inshore, either partially buried 

 or in close proximity to structure 

 (011a et al. 1974). In spring and sum- 

 mer adults return to inshore habitats. 

 On hard-bottom reefs off Maryland 



529 



