Journal ArticleDOI
Spawning seasonality and body sizes at sexual maturity in the bluespine unicornfish, Naso unicornis (Acanthuridae)
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Spawning seasonality and L50 estimates for bluespine unicornfish in Hawaii suggest that the species spawns several months earlier in the calendar year and matures at larger body lengths in Hawaii versus Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia.Abstract:
We herein evaluate several reproductive metrics of Hawaiian Archipelagic populations of the bluespine unicornfish (Naso unicornis), an economically and ecologically important, broadly distributed tropical Pacific reef fish, based on multi-year, fishery-dependent and fishery-independent collections. Sex-specific spawning seasonality was characterized for fish collected mostly from Oahu (Main Hawaiian Islands, MHI) using a gonadosomatic index. Histological slides preparations were used to score gonad developmental phase and to classify individuals of either sex as immature or mature. Sex-specific median body lengths at maturity (L50) were estimated by logistic fits of proportion mature versus length class. Spawning was highly seasonal in Hawaii, with a single brief (May–June) peak spawning period. Proportionate gonad-to-body weight values were relatively low, averaging only about 0.1 % and 0.6 % across all months of year and 0.16 % and 1.03 % during May–June for males and females, respectively. Median lengths at sexual maturity differed between the sexes. L50 values for fish collected throughout all months of year were 30.1 ± 0.5 (standard error) cm Fork Length (FL) for males and 35.5 ± 0.7 cm FL for females. Spawning seasonality and L50 estimates for bluespine unicornfish in Hawaii suggest that the species spawns several months earlier in the calendar year and matures at larger body lengths in Hawaii versus Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. Estimated lengths at sexual maturity are compared to the minimum length (14 inches or 35.6 cm FL) mandated for this species in Hawaii: median size at maturity occurs at a length appreciably less than (males) or approximately equal to (females) minimum legal size. A likely disproportionately large contribution of old females to population replenishment is discussed relative to the minimum size limit.read more
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Book Chapter
Chapter 5 Priority Species to Support the Functional Integrity of Coral Reefs
Kennedy Wolfe,Kenneth R. N. Anthony,Russell C. Babcock,Line K. Bay,David G. Bourne,Damien Burrows,Maria Byrne,Dione J. Deaker,Guillermo Diaz-Pulido,Pedro R. Frade,Manuel González-Rivero,Andrew S. Hoey,Mia O. Hoogenboom,Mark I. McCormick,Juan-Carlos Ortiz,Tries B. Razak,Anthony J. Richardson,George Roff,Hannah Sheppard-Brennand,Jessica Stella,Angus Thompson,Sue-Ann Watson,Nicole S. Webster,Donna Audas,Roger Beeden,Jesseca Carver,Mel Cowlishaw,Michelle Dyer,Paul Groves,Dylan Horne,Lauric Thiault,Jason Vains,David Wachenfeld,Damien Weekers,Genevieve Williams,Peter J. Mumby +35 more
TL;DR: In this paper, a wealth of literature addresses ecosystem functioning on coral reefs, available information covers only a subset of specific taxa, ecological processes and environmental processes, and specific provisions for these key taxa are essential to biodiversity conservation and resilience based adaptive management.
Book ChapterDOI
Priority species to support the functional integrity of coral reefs
Kennedy Wolfe,Kenneth R. N. Anthony,Russell C. Babcock,Line K. Bay,David G. Bourne,Damien Burrows,Maria Byrne,Dione J. Deaker,Guillermo Diaz-Pulido,Pedro R. Frade,Manuel González-Rivero,Andrew S. Hoey,Mia O. Hoogenboom,M. A.R.K. McCormick,Juan-Carlos Ortiz,Tries B. Razak,Anthony J. Richardson,George Roff,Hannah Sheppard-Brennand,Jessica Stella,Angus Thompson,Sue-Ann Watson,Nicole S. Webster,Donna Audas,Roger Beeden,Jesseca Carver,Mel Cowlishaw,Michelle Dyer,Paul Groves,Dylan Horne,Lauric Thiault,Jason Vains,David Wachenfeld,Damien Weekers,Genevieve Williams,Peter J. Mumby +35 more
TL;DR: In this article, a comprehensive assessment of 70 taxonomically diverse and functionally distinct coral reef species from microbes to top predators is presented to summarise reef functioning, and five case studies are used to highlight critical gaps in knowledge that limit our understanding of ecosystem functioning.
Journal ArticleDOI
Comparisons of body sizes at sexual maturity and at sex change in the parrotfishes of Hawaii: input needed for management regulations and stock assessments.
TL;DR: This study provides a model demonstration of why catch data for parrotfishes, and other size-structured reef-fish populations, should be recorded either by species or by functional size-groups of species that allow setting more meaningful minimum size limits.
Journal ArticleDOI
Seasonality, sex ratio, spawning frequency and sexual maturity of the opakapaka Pristipomoides filamentosus (Perciformes: Lutjanidae) from the Main Hawaiian Islands: fundamental input to size-at-retention regulations
TL;DR: Size-at-maturity estimates for the crimson jobfish are provided and are suggested to be seriously considered in any future evaluations of minimum size regulations, currently set at ~0.45kg (1 lb) regardless of sex, for the species’ fisheries in Hawaii.
Journal ArticleDOI
Life history of the orange-striped emperor Lethrinus obsoletus from the Mariana Islands
TL;DR: Investigation of the age-based demography of the orange-striped emperor from commercial samples in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands suggests the species spawns every lunar cycle throughout the year with spawning activity potentially increasing around the new moon.
References
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Book
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Journal ArticleDOI
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