How does spawning frequency scale with body size in marine fishes?

Abstract

AbstractHow does fecundity scale with female size? Female size not only affects the number and size of offspring released in any one reproductive bout (i.e. batch fecundity) but also affects frequency of bouts that occur within a given spawning season (i.e. spawning frequency). Previous studies have noted contrasting effects of female size on spawning frequency such that the effect of female size on reproductive output and total egg production of a population remains unclear. If smaller females spawn more frequently, this could effectively nullify hyperallometry—the disproportionate contribution of larger females to batch fecundity. Here, we explore the relationship between female size and spawning frequency in marine fishes and test this relationship while controlling for phylogeny. Within all of the species considered, spawning frequency scaled positively with body size. Comparing across species, the smallest species showed steeper scaling than the largest. Considering only batch fecundity scaling probably underestimates the relationship between body size and absolute fecundity for many species; reproduction is likely to be more hyperallometric than is currently appreciated based on batch fecundity estimates. Second, an understanding of fecundity scaling depends on estimates of batch fecundity, spawning frequency and spawning duration—we have far more estimates of the first parameter than we do the others, and more studies are required.