Life history of two data-poor but commercially valuable tropical reef fishes, Parupeneus barberinus and Mulloidichthys flavolineatus, from the Saipan fishery, Northern Mariana Islands

Abstract

We provide a detailed characterisation of the life histories of two commercially important tropical goatfish species, Parupeneus barberinus and Mulloidichthys flavolineatus, from the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI). Two years of continuous fishery-dependent data were used to assess age, growth, mortality and reproduction. Both species are short-lived, with a maximum age of 5 years and maturation within the first year of life. Female and male P. barberinus reach 50% maturity at 15.4- and 20.2-cm fork length (FL) respectively. The M. flavolineatus females and males reach 50% maturity at 15.8- and 16.1-cm FL. Temporal variation in the reproductive cycle of M. flavolineatus indicated that average monthly gonadosomatic index had a clear reproductive period of May–June and an anomalously high peak in November. The reproductive seasonality of P. barberinus was less clear, owing to the abnormally high proportion of inactive physiologically mature females found throughout the year in the fishery across a wide size range. Migrations of P. barberinus into and out of the main fishing area (Saipan lagoon) may explain why the fishery does not encompass the actively spawning population.

Age, growth and reproductive biology of a widespread coral reef fish, yellowfin goatfish Mulloidichthys vanicolensis (Valenciennes, 1831)

“…In addition, a significant difference was observed between von Bertalanffy growth equations for each sex, indicating that there are differences in growth between females and males. This observation has also been reported in M. vanicolensis in other waters and in M. flavolineatus (Cole, 2009;Reed & Taylor, 2020;Samejima et al, 2021;Wahbeh, 1992) Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is associated with mating systems in many fish. For example, in pair spawning species, males are larger than females due to competition among males.…”

“…Reports on the age and growth of Mullidae indicate that they are relatively short lived, with a maximum age usually ranging from 4 to 8 years (Arslan & İşmen, 2013; İşmen, 2005, 2006; Ozvarol et al . 2010; Reed & Taylor, 2020; Reñones et al . 1995; Wahbeh and Ajiad, 1985), and there are no reports of long‐lived species such as Lutjanidae (Taylor et al ., 2018), Lethrinidae (Ebisawa & Ozawa, 2009) and Acanthuridae (Choat & Axe, 1996).…”

“…The SSD of Mullidae varies: males are larger than females or similarly sized in Parupeneus (Pavlov et al, 2011;Reed & Taylor, 2020;Wahbeh & Ajiad, 1985) and smaller than females in Upeneus Is ¸men, 2005Is ¸men, , 2006Ozvarol et al, 2010), Mullus (Arslan & _ Is ¸men, 2013;Reñones et al, 1995) and Mulloidichthys (Reed & Taylor, 2020;Samejima et al, 2021;Wahbeh, 1992). The genus Parupeneus has a matching system and testes size trends consistent with SSD (female smaller than male).…”

“…(2007) suggest that Mullidae are the only known taxonomic group that may be consistently characterised as composed entirely of actual or potential “nuclear species.” Given this characterisation, Mullidae may be a valuable indicator species for habitat change in coral reefs (Russ et al ., 2015; Uiblein, 2007). In addition to their ecological influence, this family is commercially important and represents a food source for many coastal communities (Holland et al ., 1993; Mayer et al ., 2000; Reed & Taylor, 2020; Santana et al ., 2006).…”

“…Given this characterisation, Mullidae may be a valuable indicator species for habitat change in coral reefs (Russ et al, 2015;Uiblein, 2007). In addition to their ecological influence, this family is commercially important and represents a food source for many coastal communities (Holland et al, 1993;Mayer et al, 2000;Reed & Taylor, 2020;Santana et al, 2006).…”