Early life history of spotted seatrout,Cynoscion nebulosus (Pisces: Sciaenidae), in Tampa Bay,Florida

During two years of sampling, 747 larval and 1,379 juvenile spotted seatrout,Cynoscion nebulosus, were collected in Tampa Bay, Florida; 93% were less than 75 mm SL. Length-frequency distributions and otolith analysis showed that spawning took place from early April until late October. Two seasonal spawning peaks (spring and summer) were made up of many smaller peaks, apparently timed with moon phases. Plankton samples contained larvae that measured up to about 7 mm SL (17 d old). Larvae collected from an upper bay station were less numerous and larger than those collected at other stations. The presence of small larvae from middle and lower bay stations indicated that spawning probably took place from the middle bay to nearshore Gulf waters. Juveniles used seagrass beds as their major habitat, but they were also found in unvegetated backwaters. Spotted seatrout grew to about 35 mm SL in 2 months, 84 mm SL in 4 months, and 140 mm SL in 6 months. Eighty-five percent of the alimentary tracts in larvae were empty; those with food contained primarily copepods. Eleven percent of the stomachs of juveniles were empty. Fish and shrimp were the most important food groups in the diets of fish >15 mm SL. Intraspecific comparisons of diets showed high dietary overlap between larval fish and those measuring 8–15 mm SL and among size classes >15 mm SL.