Spawning period of Mediterranean marine fishes

Abstract

We collected all available information (i.e. international and local journals, conference proceedings, theses, technical reports) on the spawning season (n = 511 stocks, 168 species), gonadosomatic index (n = 237 stocks, 81 species) and sex ratio (n = 97 stocks, 68 species) of Mediterranean marine fish. The 511 stocks represented 20 orders (most were Perciformes, 283 stocks) and 65 families (most were Sparidae: 17 species and 63 stocks). Overall, 346 stocks (128 species) spawned between April and August, 139 stocks (60 species) between September and March, while the remaining 26 stocks (13 species) were all-year-round spawners. In addition, 174 stocks (34.1%) were characterised by an extended ([4 months) spawning season, but, for most stocks (332 stocks, 64.4%), spawning duration ranged from 2 to 4 months inclusive. Regardless of the onset and the duration of spawning, the spawning period of 284 and 287 stocks included June and July, respectively, indicating that most Mediterranean species are summer spawners. Female gonadosomatic index ranged between 0.06 and 37 (mean ± SE = 8.55 ± 0.647, n = 95) and was significantly higher (t-test: t = 5.58, P \ 0.001) than the corresponding male one, which ranged between 0.06 and 30 (mean ± SE = 4.21 ± 0.431, n = 95). Congeneric species that occupied the same area and share the same requirements exhibited successive and non-overlapping spawning (e.g. Sparidae in the Adriatic Sea, Mugilidae in the Ionian Sea and Tunisian waters). The knowledge of the spawning period coupled with information on spawning and nursery grounds and detailed knowledge of mating systems, social interactions, maturity and fecundity may be very useful for fisheries management.

Zooplankton diversity and distribution in a deep and anoxic Mediterranean coastal lake

“…On the contrary, during winter months, meroplanktonic taxa constituted a significant part of the zooplankton community and in some cases the majority of total zooplankton abundance. The presence of the larvae and especially the eggs of the anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) in summer months coincide with its main reproductive period in the Mediterranean (Tsikliras et al, 2010). Larvae and eggs of this species have also been reported from other coastal lakes (e.g.…”

Distribution and biological features of the common pandora, Pagellus erythrinus (Linnaeus, 1758), in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Central Mediterranean)

“…Moreover, our samplings have been carried out with an annual periodicity. In the Mediterranean Sea, the common pandora generally spawns in spring/summer (Tsikliras et al 2010), a second spawning period in autumn has been reported by some authors (Dieuzeide et al 1955;Ghorbel and Ktari 1982;Vassilopoulou and Papaconstantinou 1990). Discordant opinions regard the time of sex reversal: it has been reported to occur during the prespawning, spawning or postspawning season in different studies (D'Ancona 1949;Larrañeta 1953;Zei and Zupanovio 1961).…”

“…However, the sexual pattern seems to be much more complex as both primary males and specimens, which are still females at the known maximum size, are frequently identified (Larrañeta 1964). The spawning season lasts from March to November in the Mediterranean Sea and from May to August in the Atlantic waters (Hashem and Gassim 1981;Girardin and Quignard 1985;Papaconstantinou et al 1988;Livadas 1989;Pajuelo and Lorenzo 1998;Hoşsucu and Ç akır 2003;Coelho et al 2010;Tsikliras et al 2010). Sexual maturity is reached between the second and the third year of life (Girardin and Quignard 1985;Pajuelo and Lorenzo 1998).…”

Editorial Note on Reproductive Biology of Fishes

“…Exceptional behavioural patterns or tactics (e.g., bourgeois and parasitic sperm competing males: Taborsky 1998, Gonçalves et al 2005 and diversions from the norm (e.g., unexpected reproductive strategy: Freon et al 1997) may need more research and discussion and justify also a research article. Ichthyoplankton surveys also provide important information on the spawning of fishes, such as defining the extent of the spawning period (e.g., Tsikliras et al 2010), but are not considered here as they belong to a scientific field of their own.…”

“…The number of articles published in the primary literature that deal with the reproductive biology of fishes has increased progressively with time (for the Mediterranean Sea; see Tsikliras et al 2010, Tsikliras and Stergiou unpublished ** ). Globally, since 2002, such articles have averaged >1100 items per year (Fig.…”