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Fecundity and Reproductive Season of the Round Goby Neogobius melanostomus in the Upper Detroit River
Author(s) -
MacInnis Andrew J.,
Corkum Lynda D.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(2000)129<0136:farsot>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - fecundity , round goby , neogobius , biology , spawn (biology) , seasonal breeder , goby , fishery , ecology , sex ratio , reproductive season , zoology , invasive species , reproduction , population , fish <actinopterygii> , demography , sociology
The round goby Neogobius melanostomus successfully invaded the Great Lakes perhaps, in part, because of its reproductive strategy, whereby females spawn many times over an extended reproductive season. Female round gobies were collected from the upper Detroit River (by trawling and angling) during spring, summer, and fall of 1996 in order to determine fecundity patterns and length of the reproductive season. Female round gobies were mature at 1 year of age, which is 1 year earlier than has been noted for gobies in Europe. Gravid females were present in May and declined at the end of July, which indicates that spawning occurs from spring until midsummer. Mean fecundity was 198 eggs, and variation in fecundity was correlated with standard length ( r 2 = 0.76, P < 0.0001) of females. Fecundity was lower than that observed for the same species in Europe, but it was generally higher than that of most native species with which gobies would compete. A field experiment showed that artificial nests contained fewer eggs but were used more often by more spawning females than were such nests in Europe. The relatively high fecundity (compared with that of native species), rapid maturation, aggressive behavior, and extended spawning season may favor the continued expansion of round gobies throughout the Great Lakes.