Abstract

The great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) is an important predator in mangrove, seagrass, and reef environments of south Florida and the Caribbean. Despite this very little is known about their early life history or population replenishment. In order to determine temporal patterns of larval supply to nearshore waters, a series of light traps was deployed over shallow coral reefs along the upper Florida Keys every other night for six months from May-October of 2002 and 2003. Traps were also deployed monthly during peak settlement times throughout winter and spring (November-April) of 2003 and 2004. Larval growth rates and the pelagic larval duration (PLD) of barracuda were determined through otolith analysis and compared to concurrently collected hydrographic data. Barracuda appeared in the traps only during summer months, with two primary lunar-cyclic pulses occurring between the third quarter and new moons in late June-early July and late August-early September. Water temperature explained most of the variability in early larval growth, however, patterns were unclear for later larval growth. Additional data are needed to augment the four seasonal cohorts and verify these preliminary results.

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