Marancik et a!.: Spatial and temporal distribution of grouper larvae in the Gulf of Mexico and Straits of Florida 
32°N 
30°N 
28°N 
26°N 
24°N 
22°N 
20°N 
32°N 
30°N 
28°N 
26° N 
24° N 
22°N 
20°N 
32°N 
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xApril-May > September-October O Additional Samples 
Figure 4 
Spatial and seasonal distributions of species and morphologically discrete groups of species 
with standard pigment (Marancik et al., 2010) collected during Southeast Area Monitoring 
and Assessment Program Gulf of Mexico surveys 1982-2005. (A) Cephalopholis cruentata 
(graysby); ( B ) specimens with small spinelets; (C) specimens with long and curved spinelets; 
ID) small Mycteroperca with the clorsal-ventral tail pigment pattern; (E) mid-size speci- 
mens of Epinephelus itajara or Mycteroperca spp., and (F) large specimens of Mycteroperca 
spp. X=specimens collected in spring (April-May), triangles = specimens collected in fall 
(September-October), circles = specimens collected outside spring and fall surveys. Boxes 
denote the five subregions of the northern Gulf of Mexico used for analyses. 
the spring survey were mostly collected on and near 
the shelf break off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, and Alabama (TX-LA and MS-AL-nFL). 
Specimens collected during the fall survey, however, 
occurred only on the wFL shelf (Fig. 40. Members of 
this species group may include postflexion Epinephelus 
drummondhayi, E. itajara, Hyporthodus flavolimbatus, 
H. nigritus, H. niveatus, members of the Mycteroperca 
genus that lack cleithral symphysis pigment, or a 
combination of these species (Marancik et al., 2010). 
Four species (C. fulva, H. mystacinus , Gonioplec- 
trus hispanus, and Paranthias furcifer ) and a two- 
species complex (either E. striatus or M. venenosa) 
also were collected in SEAMAP survey samples, 
but in very low numbers (Table 1). These larvae oc- 
curred on the TX-LA shelf and offshore of the wFL 
shelf. There were too few larvae to define seasonal 
patterns. 
Influence of environmental factors 
The generalized additive models used to evaluate 
the influence of select physical variables measured 
during SEAMAP plankton surveys in the Gulf of 
