ABSTRACT
Abstract............................................................................................................................................41 Introduction .....................................................................................................................................41 Sampling Techniques.......................................................................................................................43 Age Determination and Validation ..................................................................................................44 Growth Analysis ..............................................................................................................................45 Acknowledgments ...........................................................................................................................54 References .......................................................................................................................................54
Spotted seatrout exhibit differences in growth rates between sexes and among locations; however, different sampling designs, collection gears, and analytical techniques employed during growth studies have introduced different biases to the findings on spotted seatrout growth. Despite these biases, our compilation of the literature reveals that broad regional differences are apparent in spotted seatrout growth. Both sexes appear to be larger at age in the northern regions of the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast than in the southern sections of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Because spotted seatrout are lifetime, estuary residents and show a high degree of plasticity in growth, their growth rates may be a good indicator of subtle changes in the biotic and abiotic conditions within individual estuaries.
