Abstract

In the Florida Keys, queen conch, Strombus gigas, occur nearshore in hardbottom communities and offshore in seagrass meadows and rubble zones adjacent to the reef traet. Queen conch in nearshore aggregations have not been observed reproducing (mating or spawning) since our monitoring program began in 1987. However, reproduction has commonly been observed in offshore aggregations. Reciprocal transplants of conch with flared lips were made between pairs of nearshore and offshore sites, resulting in each site having both nearshore and offshore concho Nearshore conch were not observed mating or spawning in their native nearshore region during this study. Nearshore conch transplanted offshore were not observed mating; however, three months after transplantation, nearshore conch were observed spawning at offshore sites. Offshore conch transplanted nearshore mated and spawned, but atreduced frequencies compared with conch that remained offshore. These preliminary results suggest that some component of the nearshore environment affects reproduction in conch and that transplanting nearshore conch to the offshore region restores the reproductive viability of transplanted conch

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