Growth, mortality, and hatchdate distributions of larval and juvenile spotted seatrout in Florida Bay, Everglades National Park

Information on growth and mortality of larval and juvenile spotted seatrout, which spend their entire life history in Florida Bay, is needed by the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Prediction and Modeling Program, which focuses on restoration of natural communities in the Everglades region. Juveniles were collected in 1994-97 to obtain life history data and derive equations describing growth. Spotted seatrout juvenile growth was similar among three geographical subdivisions of the bay. However, wet-weight for one of six cohorts categorized by month of hatchdate was significantly different than the others, and a significant difference in length was observed for another cohort. Other data on spawning, temperature influences on growth, and age-related growth rates indicate some environmental factors other than temperature may influence growth.