Patterns in Abundance, Growth, and Mortality of Juvenile Red Drum across Estuaries on the Texas Coast with Implications for Recruitment and Stock Enhancement

Abstract

Abstract The interannual variation in patterns of abundance, growth, and mortality of juvenile red drum Sciaenops ocellatus was examined with long-term monitoring data from nine estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast during a 20-year period. Estimates of abundance and mortality exhibited order-of-magnitude differences. Growth rates varied two- to threefold across years within each estuary and across estuaries within a single year. For age-0 juveniles, abundance was typically highest in late fall, length increased exponentially, and mortality was generally low. Variation in growth and mortality was not related among estuaries, suggesting that the factors affecting the feeding and survival of young red drum are specific to individual estuarine systems. Estimates of age-0 red drum abundance were characterized by the intermittent occurrence of strong year-classes and were positively correlated across estuaries, indicating that factors determining abundance and distribution vary on a large spatial scale. Correla...