Reproductive Biology of the Smooth Flounder in Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire
- 1 January 1994
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
- Vol. 123 (1) , 112-114
- https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8659(1994)123<0112:rbotsf>2.3.co;2
Abstract
The smooth flounder Pleuronectes putnami is the only small, boreal flatfish species of inshore waters along the east coast of North America. Insights into the selection forces that shape the evolution of flatfish life histories can be gained by comparing the life history traits of smooth flounder with those of the larger, deeper-dwelling flatfishes. We examined several aspects of the reproductive biology of a population of smooth flounder in Great Bay estuary, New Hampshire. All males examined were sexually mature, including age-0 fish as small as 73 mm total length. Females matured during their first or second year at a mean length of 97.7 mm. The small size and young age at maturity suggest that the species is subject to high mortality, slow growth, or both. This would be consistent with their existence in highly variable boreal estuaries. Fecundity of 46 females 87–172 mm long ranged from 4,600 to 52,000 ova. The sex ratio overall did not differ significantly from 1:1. However, most of the lar...Keywords
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