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The reproductive biology of the hermaphroditic goldlined seabream Rhabdosargus sarba in the central waters of the Taiwan Strait

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Abstract

The reproductive biology of a commercially important sparid, the goldlined seabream Rhabdosargus sarba, was determined from examination of 802 specimens (443 females, 232 males, 68 fish of undifferentiated sex, and 59 bisexual fish) collected by fisheries operating in the central waters of the Taiwan Strait (henceforth “central Taiwan Strait”) from January to December 2016. Previous studies undertaken in other parts of the world have yielded conflicting information on the reproductive biology of this species. Based on macroscopic appearance, the gonadosomatic index, and histological examination of the gonad tissues, the spawning season of this species in the central Taiwan Strait was determined to be from December to March. R. sarba is an asynchronous spawner, with a mean estimated fecundity of 825,078 ± 431,672 eggs. The sex ratio, 0.66, was significantly different from 0.5, and females predominated in most size classes and monthly samples. Size at 50% maturity was estimated to be 23.7 and 20.9 cm fork length for females and males, respectively. Ovotestes were identified in both young and adult individuals, which suggests that R. sarba is a rudimentary hermaphrodite in the central Taiwan Strait. This finding is similar to that for conspecifics reported from Australia, but differs from those reported for other geographical regions. Monthly variation in the condition factor and in the hepatosomatic index indicated that the energy reserves of the muscles and liver may be closely linked to the spawning activity of this species.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Kwang-Min Liu at the Institute of Marine Affairs and Resource Management for his critical review of, and comments on, the draft of this manuscript. This study was funded by the Fisheries Agency, Council of Agriculture (contract 105AS14.2.3-FF1-3).

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  1. Institute of Marine Affairs and Resource Management, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung City, 20224, Taiwan

    Shyh-Bin Wang

  2. Department of Environmental Biology and Fisheries Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung City, 20224, Taiwan

    Tse-Lin Hsu & Shoou-Jeng Joung

  3. Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung City, 20224, Taiwan

    Shyh-Bin Wang

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  1. Shyh-Bin Wang
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Wang, SB., Hsu, TL. & Joung, SJ. The reproductive biology of the hermaphroditic goldlined seabream Rhabdosargus sarba in the central waters of the Taiwan Strait. Fish Sci 86, 793–805 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-020-01448-8

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