Multidecadal meta-analysis of reproductive parameters of female red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) in the northern Gulf of Mexico

• Published in: Fishery bulletin (Washington, D.C.) Vol. 117; no. 1-2; pp. 37 - 49
• Main Authors: Brown-Peterson, Nancy J, Peterson, Christopher R, Fitzhugh, Gary R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington National Marine Fisheries Service 01.01.2019; Superintendent of Documents
• Subjects: Fecundity; Females; Fishes; Lutjanus campechanus; Meta-analysis; Parameters; Probability theory; Recovery; Red snapper; Sexual behavior; Spawning; Stocks; United States; Gulf of Mexico
• ISSN: 0090-0656; 1937-4518
• DOI: 10.7755/FB.117.1.5

Stocks of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) exhibited a dramatic decline in abundance in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) between 1960 and 1991; management regulations implemented since 1991 have resulted in a modest recovery. To examine potential temporal and regional changes in reproductive parameters of female red snapper during recovery of the stock, we used meta-analytical models to analyze data collected during 1991–2017 throughout the northeastern (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi) and northwestern (Louisiana and Texas) GOM; no data were available for 2003–2008. Peak red snapper spawning occurred from June through August throughout the time period, and a high probability (>75%) of spawning occurred during May from 1995 through 2017. The reproductive season was estimated to average 4.5 months from 1994 through 2017. Increases in spawning interval were estimated across time in the northwestern region (2.3–4.7 days between spawnings from 1992 through 2015) and for regions combined (2.4–2.9 days from 1991 through 2017) but showed no changes in the northeastern region (2.3–2.4 days from 1991 through 2017). Relative batch fecundity generally decreased from 1991 through 2017 for all models; however, this decrease was more notable in the northwestern GOM than in the northeastern GOM after 2013. Our analyses suggest evidence of reproductive compensation, particularly because the estimated changes in reproductive parameters were more pronounced in the northwestern GOM.