Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF05127
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 57(4)

Regional patterns in reproductive biology of Lethrinus miniatus on the Great Barrier Reef

A. J. Williams A D , C. R. Davies A B and B. D. Mapstone A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CRC Reef Research Centre, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.

B Present address: CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, 7001 TAS, Australia.

C Present address: Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC, Private Bag 80, Hobart, 7001 TAS, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: ashley.williams@jcu.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 57(4) 403-414 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF05127
Submitted: 27 June 2005  Accepted: 21 March 2006   Published: 14 June 2006

Abstract

Uniformity in fish population biology is a common assumption in many fishery assessments and management arrangements. Although spatial patterns in population biology are often unknown, ignorance of significant variation within a fished stock has profound implications for fishery assessments and management. In the current paper, the reproductive biology of an exploited reef fish, Lethrinus miniatus, was examined for populations in the northern and southern regions of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Significant regional variation was observed in some reproductive parameters, but not others. In the northern region, the proportion of spawning females observed during the spawning season was significantly greater and the size at sex change significantly smaller than in the southern region. However, the spawning season, age at sex change and sex ratios did not differ significantly between the northern and southern regions. Size and age at maturity could not be estimated from either of these regions, but an estimate was obtained from the Capricorn–Bunker region at the southern tip of the GBR. The observed regional patterns in reproductive biology of L. miniatus populations have important implications for specific management arrangements such as size limits and seasonal closures, and for fisheries management in general.

Extra keywords: Lethrinidae, protogyny, reproduction, spawning omission.


Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank the skippers and crew of the Fishing Vessels Vana, Hobo, Orpheus, El torito, Sharma, Bundy R, Cat Angler, Peggy Vee, Somerset, Battersea, Dorothy B, Peri and Catchalot who provided samples for this research for no charge, without whom this research would not have materialised. We also thank Rick and Lyn Hack from Coimbra for their assistance in collecting samples from the Capricorn–Bunker Group. Funding for this research was provided by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, the Cooperative Research Centre for the Great Barrier Reef Word Heritage Area and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. AW was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award.


References

Adams, S. , Mapstone, B. D. , Russ, G. R. , and Davies, C. R. (2000). Geographic variation in the sex specific size, and age structure of Plectropomus leopardus (Serranidae) between reefs open and closed to fishing on the Great Barrier Reef. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57, 1448–1458.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Bannerot S., Fox W. W., Jr, and Powers J. E. (1987). Reproductive strategies and management of snappers and groupers in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. In ‘Tropical Snappers and Groupers: Biology and Fisheries Management’. (Eds J. Polovina and S. Ralston.) pp. 561–603. (Westview Press: London.)

Bean, K. , Mapstone, B. D. , Davies, C. R. , Murchie, C. D. , and Williams, A. J. (2003). Gonad development and evidence of protogyny in the red-throat emperor on the Great Barrier Reef. Journal of Fish Biology 62, 299–310.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Carpenter K. E. (2001). Lethrinidae. Emperor (emperor snappers). In ‘FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 5. Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae)’. (Eds K. E. Carpenter and V. Niem.) pp. 3004–3050. (FAO: Rome.)

Charnov, E. L. , and Skúladóttir, U. (2000). Dimensionless invariants for the optimal size (age) of sex change. Evolutionary Ecology Research 2, 1067–1071.
Church A. G. (1995). Ecology of the Norfolk Island domestic fishery. Ph.D. Thesis, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Coleman, F. C. , Koenig, C. C. , and Collins, L. A. (1996). Reproductive styles of shallow-water groupers (Pisces: Serranidae) in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the consequences of fishing spawning aggregations. Environmental Biology of Fishes 47, 129–141.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Grimes C. (1987). Reproductive biology of the Lutjanidae: a review. In ‘Tropical Snappers and Groupers: Biology and Fisheries Management’. (Eds J. Polovina and S. Ralston.) pp. 239–294. (Westview Press: London.)

Haddon M. (2001). ‘Modelling and Quantitative Methods in Fisheries.’ (Chapman and Hall: London.)

Higgs J. (1999). Experimental recreational catch estimates for Queensland residents. Results from the 1997 diary round. RFISH Technical Report No. 2, Queensland Fisheries Management Authority, Brisbane, Australia.

Higgs J. (2001). Recreational catch estimates for Queensland residents. Results from the 1999 diary round. RFISH Technical Report No. 3, Queensland Fisheries Service, Brisbane, Australia.

Hill B. J. (1990). Minimum legal sizes and their use in management of Australian fisheries. In ‘Legal Sizes and their Use in Fisheries Management’. (Ed. D. A. Hancock.) pp. 9–18. (Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.)

Hopley D. (1982). ‘Geomorphology of the Great Barrier Reef: Quaternary Development of Coral Reefs.’ (Wiley: New York.)

Hovey, T. E. , and Allen, L. G. (2000). Reproductive patterns of six populations of the spotted sand bass, Paralabrax maculatofasciatus, from Southern and Baja California. Copeia 2000, 459–468.
Mapstone B. D., McKinlay J. P., and Davies C. R. (1996). A description of commercial reef line fishery logbook data held by the Queensland Fisheries Management Authority. Report to the Queensland Fisheries Management Authority, Brisbane, Australia.

Mapstone B. D., Davies C. D., Slade S. J., Jones A., Kane K. J., and Williams A. J. (2001). ‘Effects of live fish trading and targeting spawning aggregations on fleet dynamics, catch characteristics, and resource exploitation by the Queensland commercial demersal reef line fishery.’ (CRC Reef Research Centre: Townsville, Australia.)

Munday, P. L. , Caley, M. J. , and Jones, G. P. (1998). Bi-directional sex change in a coral-dwelling goby. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 43, 371–377.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Sadovy Y. J. (1996). Reproduction of reef fishery species. In ‘Reef Fisheries’. (Eds N. V. C. Polunin and C. M. Roberts.) pp. 15–59. (Chapman and Hall: London.)

Sadovy, Y. , and Shapiro, D. Y. (1987). Criteria for the diagnosis of hermaphroditism in fishes. Copeia 1987, 136–156.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Shapiro D. Y. (1984). Sex reversal and sociodemographic processes in coral reef fishes. In ‘Fish Reproduction: Strategies and Tactics’. (Eds G. W. Potts and R. J. Wooton.) pp. 103–118. (Academic Press: London.)

Shapiro D. Y. (1987). Reproduction in groupers. In ‘Tropical Snappers and Groupers: Biology and Fisheries Management’. (Eds J. Polovina and S. Ralston.) pp. 295–327. (Westview Press: London.)

Slade S. J., and Williams L. E. (2002). Red throat emperor. In ‘Queensland’s fisheries resources. Current condition and recent trends 1988–2000’. (Ed. L. E. Williams.) pp. 80–83. (Queensland Department of Primary Industries: Brisbane.)

Sumpton, W. , and Brown, I. (2004). Reproductive biology of the red throat emperor Lethrinus miniatus (Pisces: Lethrinidae) from the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Bulletin of Marine Science 74, 423–432.
Vincent A. C. J., and Sadovy Y. J. (1998). Reproductive ecology in the conservation and management of fishes. In ‘Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Biology’. (Ed. T. M. Caro.) pp. 209–245. (Oxford University Press: New York.)

Walker M. H. (1975). Aspects of the biology of emperor fishes, family Lethrinidae, in north Queensland Barrier Reef waters. Ph.D. Thesis, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.

Warner, R. R. (1982). Mating systems, sex change and sexual demography in the rainbow wrasse, Thalassoma lucasanum. Copeia 1982, 653–661.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Williams A. J. (2003). Spatial patterns in population biology of a large coral reef fish: what role can movement play? Ph.D. Thesis, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.

Williams, A. J. , Davies, C. R. , Mapstone, B. D. , and Russ, G. R. (2003). Scales of spatial variation in demography of a large coral reef fish: An exception to the typical model? Fishery Bulletin 101, 673–683.


Williams, A. J. , Davies, C. R. , and Mapstone, B. D. (2005). Variation in the periodicity and timing of increment formation in red throat emperor (Lethrinus miniatus) otoliths. Marine and Freshwater Research 56, 529–538.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Young, P. C. , and Martin, R. B. (1982). Evidence for protogynous hermaphroditism in some lethrinid fishes. Journal of Fish Biology 21, 475–484.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |