ABSTRACT
Ophiophragmus filograneus is endemic to brackish waters of Florida. Recruitment of juveniles was studied in a seagrass bed in the Banana River lagoon, an atidal site where seasonal changes in rainfall and evaporation produce wide, long-term changes in salinity. Ophiuroids were sampled monthly by two core/ sieve methods--one for adults and one for juveniles. The population had small gonads, high percent autotomy, high density, and good recruitment. Spawn-out occurred in November, 1982 and corresponded with estimates of spawn-out for prior years and for other locations in Florida. The proximate spawning factor probably is temperature, which varies predictably in shallow waters of Florida. Salinity is unlikely to be the ultimate factor, for its variation is unpredictable within and between localities. A more likely factor regulating the timing of reproduction is predation or disturbance by stingrays, which retreat to deeper waters during the winter and return in spring.
