Biological Report 82(11.98) 

February 1989 

Species Profiles: Life Histories and 

Environmental Requirements of Coastal Fishes 

and Invertebrates (Mid-Atlantic) 

SPOT 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Coastal Ecology Group 

Waterways Experiment Station 

U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
Biological Report 82( 11.98) 

TR EL-82-4 

February 1989 

Species Profiles: Life Histories and Environmental Requirements 

of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (Mid-At1 antic) 

SPOT 

J. M. Phillips, M. T. Huish, and J. H. Kerby 

North Carol ina Cooperative Fishery Research Unit 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

North Carolina State University 

Zoology Department 

Raleigh, NC 27695 

and 

D. P. Moran 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

National Wetl ands Research Center 

1010 Gause Blvd. 

Slidell, LA 70458 

Project Manager 

Edward Pendleton 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

National Wetl ands Research Center 

1010 Gause Boulevard 

Sl idel 1, LA 70458 

Performed for 

Coastal Ecology Group 

Waterways Experiment Station 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

Vicksburg, MS 39180 

and 

U.S. Department of Interior 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Research and Development 

Washington, DC 20240 
This series may be referenced as follows: 

U.S. Fish. and Wildlife Service. 1988. Species profiles: life histories and 

environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates. U.S. Fish 

Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 82(11.). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, TR EL-82-4. 

This profile may be referenced as follows: 

Phillips, J.M., M.T. Huish, J.H. Kerby, and D.P. Moran. 1989. Species profiles: 

life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and 

invertebrates (mid-Atlantic)--spot. U. S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 

82(11.98). U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, TR EL-82-4. 13 pp. 
CONVERSION TABLE 

Metric to U.S. Customary 

Multiply 

millimeters (mm) 

centimeters (cm) 

meters (m) 

meters (m) 

ki lometers (km) 

kilometers (km) 

square meters (m2) 

square kilometers (km2) 

hectares (ha) 

liters (1) 

cubic meters (m3) 

cubic meters (m3) 

mil1igr.m~ (mg) 

grams (g) 

ki 1 ograms (kg) 

metric tons (t) 

metric tons (t) 

kilocalories (kcal) 

Celsius degrees (OC) 

inches 

inches 

feet (ft) 

fathoms 

statute miles (mi) 

nautical miles (nmi) 

square feet (f t2) 

square miles (mi2) 

acres 

gal lons (gal ) 

cubic feet (ft3) 

acre-feet 

ounces (oz) 

ounces (oz) 

pounds (lb) 

pounds (lb) 

short tons (ton) 

British thermal units (Btu) 

Fahrenheit degrees (OF) 

U.S. Customary to Metric 

25.40 

2.54 

0.3048 

1.829 

1.609 

1.852 

To Obtain 

inches 

inches 

feet 

fathoms 

statute miles 

nautical miles 

square feet 

square miles 

acres 

g a l l o n s 

cubic feet 

acre-feet 

ounces 

ounces 

pounds 

pounds 

short tons 

British thermal units 

Fahrenheit degrees 

millimeters 

centimeters 

meters 

meters 

kilometers 

ki lometers 

square meters 

square kilometers 

hectares 

1 i ters 

cubic meters 

cubic meters 

milligrams 

grams 

ki lograms 

metric tons 

metric tons 

kilocalories 

Ce 1 s i us degrees 
CONTENTS 

PREFACE ................................... i ii 

CONVERSION FACTORS ............................. iv 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................... vi 

NOMENCLATURE/TAXONOMY/RANGE ......................... 1 

MORPHOLOGY/IDENTIFICATIONAIDS ....................... 1 

REASONFOR INCLUSION INSERIES ....................... 3 

LIFE HISTORY ................................ 3 

Spawning ................................. 3 

Eggs. Larvae. and Juveniles ........................ 4 

Migrations ................................ 4 

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS ........................... 5 

COMMERCIAL ANDSPORT FISHERIES ....................... 6 

ECOLOGICAL ROLE ............................... 6 

Food ................................... 6 

Predation ................................. 7 

ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS ......................... 8 

Temperature. Sal ini ty. and Dissolved Oxygen ................ 8 

Chemical Tolerances ............................ 8 

LITERATURECTTED .............................. 9 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

We are sincerely grateful to Mrs. Dorothy Wright for typing and placing 

this document on computer and for proofreading the material. 

The work was supervised by the North Carolina Cooperative Fishery Research 

Unit which is sponsored by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, 

North Carolina State University, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

We are thankful for peer reviews by William Hettler of the National Marine 

Fisheries Service, Beaufort, North Carolina, and Charles Wenner of the South 

Carol ina Marine Resources Research Institute, Charleston. 
Figure 1. Spot (Mid-Atlantic). 

SPOT 

NOMENCLATURE/TAXONOMY/RANGE MORPHOLOGY/IDENTIFICATION AIDS 

Scientific name ............. Leiostomus 

xanthurus Lacepede (Figurer 

Preferred common name ............. Spot 

Other common names ....... Flat croaker, 

Norfolk spot, golden croaker (during 

spawning season), croaker, goody, 

Cape May goody, silver gudgeon, 

lafayette, roach, chub, jimmy 

Class ..................... Osteichthyes 

Order.. .................... Perciformes 

Family.. ........... .Sciaenidae - drums 

Geographic range: Estuarine and 

coastal waters from Cape Cod to the 

Bay of Campeche in Mexico (Dahlberg 

1976; Ross 1980); especially 

abundant in the estuaries in summer 

and fa1 1 from Delaware Bay to 

Georgia. Also reported to occur in 

freshwater as far as 23 mi upstream 

from brackish water (Raney and 

Massman 1953; Massman 1954) (Figure 

2). 

Dorsal spines and rays X-XI+I, 

29-35; anal spines and rays 11, 12-13; 

vertebrae 25 (10 precaudal and 15 

caudal ) ; 1 ateral 1 ine scal es, 72-77; 

gill rakers short, 8 to 12 on the 

upper 1 imb and 20 to 24 on the lower 

1 imb of the first arch (Hildebrand and 

Schroeder 1927; Mil 1 er and Jorgenson 

1973; Chao 1978). Body rather short 

and deep, with five marginal and five 

upper pores on the snout, and five 

mental pores at the tip of the lower 

jaw, barbels absent; tail broad and 

truncate in young but notably concave 

in adults (Chao and Musick 1977; 

Hildebrand and Schroeder 1927). 

Pelvic fins moderately long, inserted 

just behind the base of the pectoral 

fins; pectoral fins reach we1 1 beyond 

the tips of the pelvic fins in adults, 

much shorter in young (Hildebrand and 

Schroeder 1927). Larvae with an 
PHILADELPHI 

A Tl A N TIC OCEA N 

KILOMETERS 

Coastal distribution 

NORTH CAROLIN 

Figure 2. Distribution of spot in the Mid-Atlantic Region. 
obl ique terminal mouth becoming 

inferior once 1 arval length reaches 

about 25 mm (Hildebrand and Cable 

1930). The number of premaxill ary and 

dentary teeth increase until fish 

lerlgth reaches 60 mm (SL), at which 

time the dentary teeth begin to fall 

out, becoming completely absent in 

fish greater than 100 mm (SL) in 

length (Govoni 1987). Upper jaw 

somewhat protrusible, gape small; 

villiform teeth in broad bands on the 

premaxillaries (juveniles only), and 

inner row of dentaries enlarged, 

canines absent (Chao and Musick 1977). 

Larval spot 7-15 mm long can be 

separated from other sciaenids by the 

presence of 12 anal rays and the 

absence of pigmentation (Pearson 

1928). Postlarvae of spot and 

Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias 

undul atusl can be diyferentiated bv 

their caudal fins, which are squareli 

truncated in spot and pointed in 

At1 antic croakers (Welsh and Breder 

1923). Larval and post1 arval 

development in spot was described by 

Hi ldebrand and Cable (1930), Johnson 

i 1978), and Powel 1 and Gordy ( 1980). 

Color in life: an ill-defined 

row of faint melanophores on each 

side of the anterior body in newly 

hatched larvae. A faint dorsal and a 

faint ventral me1 anophore 1 ocated 

about midbody and several more faint 

melanophores at the dorsal mid1 ine 

shortly after hatching. Dorsal 

me1 anophores decreasing and ventral 

me1 anophores increasing i n number as 

larvae grow. Finally, a single row 

of melanophores along the ventral 

mid1 ine becomes establ ished in the 

late yo1 k-sac stage and persists 

throughout the larval period (Powel 1 

and Gordy 1980). 

Fish 20-50 mm long, mostly pale; 

sides of head silvery; sides of body 

and back each with a row of dark 

blotches composed of dusky 

punctations, besides other irregularly 

placed dusky points. Fish longer than 

50 mm, bluish gray with golden 

reflections above; silvery underneath; 

sides with 12 to 15 oblique yellowish 

bars, becoming indistinct in very 

large fish; a large yellowish-black 

shoulder spot present, except in very 

young; fins most1 y pale ye1 low; dorsal 

and caudal fins more or less dusky; 

anal and pelvics also partly dusky in 

large fish (Hildebrand and Schroeder 

1927; Pearson 1928). 

REASON FOR INCLUSION IN SERIES 

Spot are important to both 

recreational anglers and commercial 

fishermen in the Mid-Atlantic Region 

(Pacheco 1962a; Kjelson and Johnson 

1976; Hodson et al. 1981b; Ross 1980). 

They constitute a major proportion of 

the biomass and numbers of fish 

present in estuarine waters of this 

region (Pacheco 1962a; Kjelson and 

Johnson 1976; Markle 1976; Shenker and 

Dean 1979). Consequently, they are 

considered to be important in the 

structure and function of these 

estuarine ecosystems (Kjelson and 

Johnson 1976). 

LIFE HISTORY 

Spawning 

Females as small as 214 mm have 

been found with ripening ova 

(Hi ldebrand and Schroeder 1927). The 

largest fish in the population 

generally spawn first (Hildebrand and 

Cable 1930). Most spawn offshore over 

the outer continental shelf, from 

October to March (Hildebrand and Cable 

1930; Ross 1980; Lewis and Judy 1983; 

Mi 1 ler et a1 . 1984; Warlen and Chester 

1985). According to Lewis and Judy 

(1983) some spot spawn inshore. 

Laboratory spawning has been induced 

at temperatures of 17.5-25.0 OC at a 

photoperiod of 8 h light and 16 h dark 

(Hettler and Powell 1981). Fiost 

spawning off the coast of North 

Carolina occurs 75-95 km offshore 

(Warlen and Chester 1985), and peaks 

in December and January (Lewis and 

Judy 1983; Warlen and Chester 1985). 
Eggs, Larvae, and Juveniles 

From 1 aboratory- induced spawning, 

the number of eggs produced per female 

ranges from 30,000 to 60,000 (Hettler 

and Powel 1 1981). Eggs occur in the 

water above the Continental Shelf in 

winter (Powell and Gordy 1980; 

Stickney and Cuenco 1982). Egg 

diameters range from 0.72 to 0.87 mm 

(Powel 1 and Gordy 1980). The 

incubation period lasts about 48 hours 

at a water temperature of 20 OC 

(Powell and Gordy 1980). The eggs and 

preflexion larvae (larvae in which the 

notochord has not yet begun to flex) 

are buoyant; the larvae probably 

become demersal during the flexion 

stage (Lewis and Judy 1983; Kendall et 

al. 1984). Larvae are about 1.5-1.7 

mm long at hatching (Hildebrand and 

Cable 1930; Powel 1 and Gordy 1980; 

Warlen and Chester 1985), and begin 

feeding when.they are 3 days old at 24 

OC, and when they are 6 days old at 18 

OC (Powel 1 and Chester 1985). Larvae 

up to 21 days old exhibit irreversible 

starvation when unfed for three days 

(Powell and Chester 1985). Older 

1 arvae (60-90 days) have 50% mortal i ty 

after 20 days without food (Powel 1 and 

Chester 1985). 

In the offshore waters of North 

Carolina (6 to about 63 nautical miles 

from land), spot larvae are most dense 

in mid-water and at the bottom during 

the day and appear to migrate to the 

surface at night (Kjelson et al. 

1976). In the nearshore waters (< 5 

nautical miles from land), larval 

concentrations are greatest on the 

bottom during both night and day 

(Kjelson et al. 1976). In data 

collected in one year from January to 

April, the average densities of larval 

spot ranged from 0 to 59 +_ 81 (SD) per 

1000 m3 of water in the nearshore area 

of Onslow Bay, and from 14 + 13 (SD) 

to 892 + 689 (SD) in Beaufort Inlet 

(Kjel son et a1 . 1976). 

The mean age and length of spot 

larvae vary inversely with the 

distance from shore (Kjelson et a1 . 

1976; Lewis and Judy 1983; Warlen and 

Chester 1985). Off North Carolina, 

1 arvae collected near the Gulf Stream 

were 29 days old and < 4 mm standard 

length (SL). Their average age is 59 

days (11.3-15.6 rrm SL) when they first 

enter the Newport River estuary 

(Warlen and Chester 1985). Larvae 

less than 11 mm long are rarely 

collected in the estuaries, but 

post1 arvae are common in nearshore and 

estuarine waters (Kjelson and Johnson 

1976). Near the inlets, the larvae 

metamorphose to juveniles (Miller et 

al. 1984). 

In the York and Cape Fear Rivers 

and their respective tributaries, age 

0 spot are densest upstream (Chao and 

Musick 1977, Weinstein 1979); 

yearlings are densest in the lower 

reaches (Chao and Musick 1977). The 

highest density reported for juvenile 

spot was 14.9/m2 in Rose Bay, N.C. 

(Gilliam et al. 1985). Seagrass 

meadows and tidal creeks are important 

nursery habitats for postlarval and 

juvenile spot (Spitsbergen and Wolff 

1976; Wolff 1976; Weinstein 1979; 

Weinstein and Brooks 1983). These 

spot constitute as much as 80% and 90% 

of the total number of fish present in 

seagrass meadows and tidal creeks, 

respectively, but appear to prefer 

marsh creeks over seagrass meadows 

(Weinstein and Brooks 1983). 

Migrations 

In North Carolina, larvae first 

move inshore (to the Newport River 

estuary) from mid-December to midApril and, in Onslow Bay at that time, 

are thought to be passively 

transported by the water currents 

(War1 en and Chester 1985). Juveni 1 e 

spot first occur in marshes of the 

Albemarle Sound and Neuse River 

estuaries in February (Hester 1975; 

Mi 11 er et a1 . 1984). The mechani sm by 

which the postlarvae move into the 

tidal creeks and marshes is unclear. 

One speculation is that they stay on 

the bottom during the day and on ebb 

tides, moving to the surface at night 
when flood tides carry them into tidal 

creeks and marshes (Weinstein et a1 . 1980). Spot may also move into the 

nursery areas of drowned river valley 

estuaries (where the downstream 

surface flow of the less dense 

freshwater causes a displacement of 

water in the lower layers, resultiug 

in the movement of saltwater upstream 

along the bottom of the estuary). 

However, neither of these mechanisms 

is important in shallow sounds with 

narrow inlets and low lunar tidal 

amp1 itudes such as those in Pamlico 

Sound (Mil ler et a1 . 1984). There, 

the spot may move into the nurseries 

by bottom currents created when 

northwesterly winds build up water 

against the barrier i sl ands resulting 

in a countercurrent flow in the 

opposite direct ion toward the nursery 

areas (Miller et al. 1984). Overall, 

ear 1 y pos tl arval spot probably have 

little direct control over their 

horizontal movements due to the 

strength of the horizontal currents. 

But the vertical currents are usually 

weak enough to allow post1 arval spot 

some potential control over their 

vertical movements; these 

movements are, in turn, probably the 

way they control their horizontal 

direction of migration (J. Miller, 

North Carol ina State University, 

Raleigh; pers. comm.). 

When spot first arrive in Rose 

Bay, N.C., they tend to occur mostly 

along the shallow edges of the bay; 

they disperse to a1 1 depths by April, 

but their densities remain greatest in 

the shallows (Currin 1984). In the 

Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound 

estuaries, young spot remain in the 

estuaries until September or October, 

and then migrate to the sea (Pacheco 

1962a; Hester 1975). In Neuse River 

estuaries, most spot leave by June 

(and probably move to Pamlico Sound) 

presumably due to decreases in 

dissolved oxygen (Hester 1975). 

Movements of spot 150-255 mm in fork 

length (FL) (based on tagging studies 

within or between estuaries in the 

1 ower Chesapeake Bay) general ly 

ranged from 5 to 74 mi over a period 

of 5-155 days, although several fish 

moved 178-200 mi (Pacheco 1962b). 

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS 

Initial growth of larval spot off 

the North Carolina coast has been 

reported to be about 7% of body length 

per day (Warlen and Chester 1985). 

Average instantaneous growth rates 

(in dry weight) of larvae are about 

0.20 pg/pg/day at 18-23 days of age 

and decrease to about 0.14 pg/pg/day 

at 23-48 days (Warlen et al. 1979). 

By the time spot move into coastal 

and estuarine waters, which are 

often cooler than 10 OC, growth 

rates decrease to less than 1.5% of 

body length per day (Warlen and 

Chester 1985). In moving from inlets 

to nursery areas in the Pamlico Sound, 

spot may increase from about 15 to 20 

mm in length and 0.075-0.179 g in wet 

weight (Miller et al. 1985). But 

spot may be as small as 16 mm when 

they reach the nursery areas in the 

James River, Va. (McCambridge and 

Walden 1984). Currin et al. (1984), 

in a literature review, reported that 

instantaneous dai ly growth rates of 

juvenile spot ranged from 0.021 to 

0.040 g/g/d. Growth rates of spot in 

Rose Bay, N.C., have been estimated to 

be 3% per day by weight (Miller 1985). 

McCambridge and Walden ( 1984) reported 

that growth rates of spot (63-224 mm 

TL) range from 10.5 to 19.1 mm 

TLImon t h. 

Annual production of juvenile 

spot in Rose Bay has been reported at 

7.5 g/m2, or 745 kglha, although it 

may be 10 times as high in areas near 

the headwaters (Miller 1985). About 

one-third of spot production in Rose 

Bay is in the areas less than 1.75 m 

in depth, or about one-fourth of the 

bay's area (Miller 1985). Currin et 

al. (1984) indicated that annual spot 

production ranges from 0.25 to 7.51 

g/m2; however, the large range in 

production is attributed not to growth 

rate differences, but to differences 

in the biomass (or numbers) of spot 

present. 
Most spot are of age classes 0-1 

and few are older than 111; 

predominance of smaller fish may be an 

artifact of collecting gear 

inefficiency for 1 arger spot (Pacheco 

1962a). The 1 argest spot reported was 

360 m TL (Ross 1980). Lengths by age 

are variable and overlap: age-0, 80- 

181 mm; age-1, 122-230 mm; age-2, 215- 

290 mm; age-3, 275 mm (Welsh and 

Breder 1923; Hildebrand and Cable 

1930; Pacheco 1962a). 

Determinants of year-cl ass 

strength have not been adequately 

investigated. Joseph (1972) suggested 

that year-class strength is determined 

by the time postlarvae enter the 

estuarine nursery grounds--indicating 

that year-to-year population 

fluctuations are due to environmental 

changes at the spawning grounds or in 

waters traversed by the larvae as 

they move toward the estuaries. 

Since large-scale mortalities of 

juveniles are not observed in the 

nursery grounds, reduction in population nunbers occurs during larval 

and post-larval stages. Significant 

nunbers of juvenile spot, hcwever, 

are kil led incidental ly by trawlers 

in Pamlico Sound, N.C. (Wolff 1972). 

COMClERCIAL AND SPORT FISHERIES 

The commercial fishery for spot 

is concentrated along the Atlantic 

coast from the Chesapeake Bay through 

the Carol inas (C. Manooch, National 

Marine Fisheries Service, Beaufort, 

N.C.; pers. comm.; B. Kelly, pers. 

comm.). From 1972 to 1986, the 

1 argest commercial 1 andings of spot 

were in North Carolina (Table 1). 

Most of the fish presently landed 

there are probably used for human 

consumption (C. Manooch, per. comm. ; 

8. Kelly, per. comm.). In North 

Carol ina, spot are primarily captured 

in gill nets or haul seines (Wolff 

1972); however, substantial numbers of 

spot are landed in the scrap fisheries 

in North Carolina, some of which are 

sold for industrial use. In Carteret 

County, N.C., most of the spot landed 

in trawls between 1969 and 1971 (about 

463,000 pounds) were sold as scrap 

fish (Wolff 1972). Additional 

incidental captures in shrimp trawls 

and with mi scel 1 aneous gears were 

estimated to equal about 32 mill ion 

pounds; although these fish were 

returned to the water, few are 1 ikely 

to have survived (Wolff 1972). 

North of the Chesapeake Bay, 

combined catches of spot have not 

reached 100,000 1b since 1958, and 

from 1960 to 1965, the combined catch 

has been less than 1,000 lb (Joseph 

1972). 

ECOLOGICAL ROLE 

- Food 

Early stages of spot (1-lOnm) eat 

pl ankton such as pteropods, larval 

pelecypods, and cyclopoid copepods 

(Govoni et a1 . 1983). Spot 11-20 mm 

long feed primarily on calanoid, 

harpacticoid and cyclopoid copepods, 

mysids, and amphipods (Kjelson et al. 

1975; Livingston 1982; Currin 1984). 

In the process of migrating to the 

estuaries from the Continental Shelf, 

larval spot (and other species) may 

significantly decrease the zooplankton 

st anding crop (Thayer et a1 . 1974). 

Juvenile spot are nonterritorial, 

benthic, grazing generalists (Hodson 

et al. 1981a; Woodward 1981; 

Livingston 1982) that forage 

effectively regardless of substrate 

type (Gerry 1981)--though they prefer 

sand or mud (Ross 1980; Cowan and 

Birdsong 1985). Juvenile spot 

sometimes reduce benthic infaunal 

densities and species richness 

(Virnstein 1977). In the York River 

estuary, as spot increase in size to 

greater than 20 mm SL. calanoids and 

nematodes decrease i n importance in 

the diet while harpacticoids, 

amphi pods, and polychaetes increase 

in importance. A1 1 sizes of spot 

present eat bivalve siphons and 

maldanid polychaete tai 1s (Smith 

et al. 1984). Juvenile spot in 
Table 1. Commercial landings (thousands of pounds) of spot and their value 

(thousands of do1 1 ars) by state along the Mid-At1 antic coast, from 1972-86. 

(U.S. Dep. Commerce, and N.C. 1 andings, N.C. Div. Marine Fisheries; unpubl . data). 

Year lbs $ lbs $ lbs $ lbs $ lbs $ lbs $ 

1972 * * 11 * * 74 12 2,951 322 3,902 378 

1973 * * 10 1 R * 27 5 2,576 361 5,398 676 

1974 * * 11 2 * * 37 5 2,251 349 5,607 625 

1975 * * 59 11 7 4 103 11 1,918 276 8,300 861 

1976 3 1 11 8 1.2 16 3 1,192 224 2,647 348 

1977 6 120 3 11 3 16 2 1,867 388 3,805 469 

1978 1.2 0.3 11 3 19 3 31 5 3.205 593 4,879 627 

1979 0.3 0.1 2 0.3 18 4 11 2 2,541 513 7,304 1,430 

1980 1 0.6 2 0.5 5 2 6 2 1,795 591 7,100 1,494 

1981 * .* 6 3 11 3 14 5 1,025 411 3,511 824 

1982 * * 2 0.3 2 2 6 2 1,017 390 4,919 1,080 

1983 * * 0.8 0.4 * * 129 53 1,568 490 2,952 685 

1984 * * 0.1 0.02 * t 43 18 735 261 3,487 814 

1985 * x 2 0.4 17 5 8 4 1,562 574 4,044 874 

1986 * rt 7 2 86 30 104 43 1,840 589 3,354 772 

* None reported 

the shallow bays of Pam1 ico Soynd, 

N.C., feed primarily on harpacticoids, 

nematodes, cl am siphons, dipterans, 

and polychaetes (Gerry 1981; Currin 

1984). 

Adult spot feed by scooping up 

benthic sediments in their mouth, 

followed by chewing and then spitting 

out unwanted material (Roelofs 1954). 

Their main diet consists of polychaete 

annel ids and copepods, with decapods, 

nematodes, and diatoms making up food 

i tems of 1 esser importance (Roe1 ofs 

1954; Chao and Musick 1978). 

Different diets of spot in different 

locations are probably due to the 

presence of different prey types 

(Currin 1984). 

Kjelson et al. (1975) reported 

that larvae begin feeding at dawn, and 

attain a maximum gut content by about 

midday; however, Hodson et al. (1981a) 

found that stomachs of spot (9-124 mm 

SL) are fuller at night than during 

the day. Daily rations of postlarval 

spot (about 9-25 mm SL) and juvenile 

spot (> about 25 mm SL) range from 

4.3% to 9.0% of body weight,probably 

depending on food avai 1 abil ity 

(Kjelson et a1 . 1975; Kjelson and 

Johnson 1976). Using these daily 

ration values, Currin et al. (1984) 

calculated mean consumption to be from 

5.89 to 284.4 mg (dry wt)/m2 daily. 

Predation 

Chaetognaths ( arrow-worms) are 

one of the most abundant planktonic 

predators in the waters over the 

Continental Shelf during and immediately after the winter spawning of 

spot. But their predation on larval 

spot is thought to be less important 

than their effect as a competitor for 

food (Clements 1979). Large fish, 

which may be predators of juvenile 

spot, usually live in the deeper areas 

of bays where salinities are stable, 

rather than in the shallower areas 

where salinity fluctuates greatly; 

however, spot occur in both deep and 
shallow areas of bays (Gerry 1981; 

Miller et al. 1984). In Rose Bay, 

N.C., from mid-May to mid-July, the 

instantaneous daily mortal ity of spot 

was -0.0313--a 1 arge proportion of 

which was credited to predation in 

deep areas of the bay (Currin 1984; 

Miller et al. 1984). Spot are 

considered to be of some importance as 

a food for cormorants (~hal acrocorax 

auritus) and spotted seatrout 

( Cvnoscion nebulosusl (Pearson 1928: 

~hiyer et a1 . 1976). ' Spot are a1 so: 

to a limited degree, a food source for 

striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in 

A1 bemarle Sound, N.C. (kanooch 1972) ; 

but they have been a major component 

in the diet of striped bass in the 

Chesapeake Bay (Hol 1 is 1952) . 

ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS 

Temperature, Sal inity, and Dissolved 

Oxygen 

Spot have been found at 

temperatures of 8-31 OC (Wolff 1976). 

The lower lethal temperature for spot 

is thought to be 4-5 OC, varying with 

the size of fish, the rapidity of the 

temperature drop, and the duration of 

exposure (Dawson 1958). In the 

1 aboratory, post1 arval and juvenile 

spot smaller than 25 mm SL have an 

upper .incipient lethal temperature of 

35.2 OC at a salinity of 20 ppt. At 

increasing salinities, time to death 

increases, but the 1 ethal temperature 

decreases (Hodson et al. 1981b). 

Spot have been found at 

salinities of 0-60 ppt (Hedgpeth 1967; 

Wolff 1976; Cowan and Birdsong 1985). 

Juvenile spot in York River 

tributaries occur primarily in creeks 

with sal inities of 16 ppt or greater 

(Smith et al. 1984). In Pamlico 

Sound, N.C., spot are most abundant in 

tributaries with relatively low 

salinities (Spitsbergen and Wolff 

1976). Early life history stages of 

spot appear to be able to tolerate 

relatively high salinity fluctuations 

(Gerry 1981; Gill iam et al. 1985). 

But it has been speculated, that spot 

move away from their primary nursery 

grounds due to their decreased 

tolerance of sal inity fluctuations as 

the fish age (Miller et a1 . 1984), and 

yet recent experiments indicate that 

salinity fluctuations do not influence 

juvenile spot distributions (Moser 

1985). 

For juvenile spot at 28 OC 

exposed for 1 and 96 h, the LC50 

values for dissolved oxygen are 0.49 

and 0.70 mg/L, and the LCgg values are 

0.43 and 0.60 mg/L (Burton et al. 

1980). Oxygen consumption by spot 

(respiration rate) increases with fish 

weight, swimming speed, and activity 

(Neumann et al. 1981). Spot appear to 

be more efficient oxygen consumers 

than striped bass or white perch 

(Morone americanus) (Neumann et al. 

1 981). 

Chemical To1 erances 

Chemicals that reach the 

estuarine system in runoff, in treated 

sewage, and in water used to cool 

power plants may form compounds that 

are toxic to fish. The hatching 

success of spot eggs tends to be 

inversely re1 ated to concentrations of 

5-chlorouraci 1 (a chloro-organic 

compound) at greater than 40 ppb 

(Warlen and Lewis 1976). In larval 

spot exposed to chlorine - produced 

oxidants at 0.47 ppm for 3-30 min at 9 

OC, survival ranged from 80% to 100%. 

When the temperature was raised to 12 

OC with a concentration of 0.43 ppm, 

however, survival fell from 40% to zero 

as exposure time increased from 5 to 

30 min (Warlen and Lewis 1977). In 

postlarval spot exposed to copper in 

the form of CuC12, toxicity increased 

with time: LC50 values decreased from 

0.59 mg Cu/L for 4 days of exposure, 

to 0.16 mg Cu/L for 14 days of 

exposure (Engle and Thuotte 1976). 

The LC50 val ues based on pCu (negative 

log of the free cupric ion activity) 

ranged from 9.0 to 9.2 for egg to 

hatching, and 8.4 to 8.6 for larvae 

(Engle et a1 . 1976). 
LITERATURE CITED 

Burton, D.T., L. Richardson, and C. 

Moore. 1980. Effect of oxygen 

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Chao, L.N. 1978. A basis for 

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Life history, feeding habiti and 

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Seasonal occurrence of larval and 

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Lei ostomus xanthurus, and croaker, 

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459. 

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spot;- Leiostomus xanthurus 

Lacepede, with speci a1 reference to 

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Engle, D.W., W.G. Sundra, and R.M. 

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436 in Atlantic Estuarine 

~isherTes Center annual report to 

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gradients on the distribution of 

juvenile spot, Leiostomus xanthurus, 
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undulatus. M.S. ~hesis.~ North 

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Copeia 1987:1041-1046. 

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Chester. 1983. Comparative 

feeding of three species of larval 

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Leiostomi xanthurus, and 

Micro o onias undul atus. Mar. Ecol . *:189-199. 

Gunter, G. 1950. Correlation between 

temperature of water and size of 

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Gulf Coasts of the United States. 

Copeia 1950:298-304. 

Hata, D.N. 1985. Aspects of the life 

history and population dynamics of 

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the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (May 

1985). M.S. Thesis. Texas 'A&M 

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Hedgpeth, J.W. 1967. Ecological 

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Hollis, E.H. 1952. Variations in the 

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~occus saxati 1 is (Walbaum) in 

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1976. Further observations of the 

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74:423-432. 

Kjelson, M.A., G.h. Johnson, R.L. 

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nearshore and offshore ecosystems of 

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At1 antic Estuarine Fisheries cent= 

annual report to the Energy Research 

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Lewis, R.M., and M.H. Judy. 1983. 

The occurrence of spot, Leiostomus 

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undulatus, larvae in 

and Newport River 

estuary, North Carolina. U.S. Natl . Mar. Fish. Serv. Fish. Bull. 

81:405-412. 

Livingston, R.J. 1982. Trophic 

organization of fishes in a coastal 

seagrass system. Mar. Ecol . Prog . Ser. 7:l-12. 

Manooch, C.S. 1972. Food habits of 

adult and year1 ing striped bass, 

Morone saxatil is (Wal baum) from 

A1 bemarl e Sound, North Carol ina. 

M.S. Thesis. North Carolina State 

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fresh and brackish waters of 

Virginia rivers. Ecology 35:75-78. 

McCambridge, J.T., Jr., and R.W. 

Walden, 111. 1984. Growth of 

juvenile spot, Leiostomus xanthurus 

Lacepede, in the nursery region of 

the James River, Virginia. 

Estuaries 7:478-480. 

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1973. Meristic characters of some 

marine fishes of the western 

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Miller, J.M. 1985. The effects of 

freshwater discharge into primary 

nursery areas for juvenile fish and 

shellfish: criteria for their 

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management and estuarine nurseries. 

University of North Carolina Sea 

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mechanisms and approaches to the 

study of migrations of estuarinedependent fish larvae and juveniles. 

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Neill, eds. Mechanisms of migration 

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544 pp. 

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Moser. 1985. Pligration and 

ut i 1 i zation of estuarine nurseries 

by juvenile fishes: an evolutionary 

perspective. Contrib. Mar. Sci. 

27:338-342. 

Moser, M.L. 1985. Effects of 

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estuarine fish. Estuaries 

8(2B) :9A. 

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Jerk, Jr. 1981. Oxygen consumption 

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stri~ed bass (M. ml is) and soot 

-0 - 

(~ei'ostomus'anthurus)'. Comp. 

Biochem. Physiol . 69A:467-478. 

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with notes on distribution and 

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3 : 18-28. 
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Weinstein, M.P., S.L. Weiss, R.J. 

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20. 29 pp. 

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PP. 

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PP . 
SO171 -101 - 

REPORT DOCUMENTATION I 1 RcW'" No I 3. R*coP*~~.s kcessaon No 

PAGE :Biological Report 82(11.98)* j2* 4. Totle and Subtotle % nbDR 0.t. 

species Proti 1 es: Life Hi stories and tnvi ronmental Requirements laFebruary 1989 

of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (Mid-Atlantic): Spot 

7. Author(s) b a htforn~ng Organ~zat~on nept. N, 

J.H. Phillips, M.T. Huish, J.H. ~erby,~ and D.P. bran 

9. Petfornlng Orgen~zatlon Name and Addnss 10. ~~leCt/TasLlWorh Unlt No. 

a~. C. Cooperative Fi shery Research Unit b~ational Wetl ands Research 

Department of Zoology, BOX 7617 Center 11. bntract(C) or Granl(G) NO. 

North Carolina State University U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ,,Raleiqh, NC 27695 Sl idel 1. LA 70458 

12. Swnsonna O~anlzatlon Name and Addnss 

U.S. Department of the Interior U. S. Army Corps of Engineers 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Waterways Experiment Station 

National Wet1 ands Research Center P.O. Box 631 

Washington, D.C. 20240 Vicksburg, MS 39180 

15. Supplementary Nates 

*U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Report No. TR EL-82-4 

Spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) is an important species to recreational fishermen 

and to the commercial fishing industry. Landings in Virginia are reported to be 

nearly 2 million pounds annually and in North Carolina 3 to 7 million pounds. 

Spot are distributed throughout the Mid-Atlantic area and their larvae are 

found up to 63 nautical miles from land. The larvae are reported to metamorphose to 

the juvenile phase near estuarine inlets and the juveniles appear in estuaries from 

about mid-December to mid-April where they remain until September or October. The 

juveniles may constitute 80%-90% of the total number of fish present in tidal creeks 

and seagrass meadows. Growth rates (weight) of juvenile spot vary but are reported 

as 3% per day. Lengths of young-of-year were reported by various authors to be 

about 80-181 mm; age-1, 122-230 mm; age-2, 215-290 mm; and age-3, 275 mm. 

Relatively few spot are over 3 years old. Their diet includes benthic fauna which 

varies with location. Spot may be eaten by a variety of predators, including 

striped bass. 

Spot occur at temperatures ranging from 8-31 OC and at salinities of 0-66 ppt. 

They were shown to increase their oxygen consumption with weight, swimming speed and 

activity. They appear to be more efficient consumers of oxygen than some major 

estuarine species, such as the striped bass and white perch. 

Fish Fisheries 

Growth Feeding Habits 

Salinity Life Cycle 

Temperature Oxygen 

I b. IdontlfienlClmn-Ended Terns 

Leiostomus xanthurus 

Spot 

Habitat requirements 

c. COSATl F~ldlGmuo 

1L Arallabllity Iatemont 

Unl imi ted Di stribution 

19. frcunty Class CThll Rowft) 21. No. d Cages 

Unclassified 13 

20. Socurlty ctass CTWS pa-) a P~C. 

Unclassified 

We ANSl439.lm OIIIONAL FORM 272 (67 

(Vormrly NTIU5) 

O.gaRmbnl d Comrnwco 
As, the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of 

the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned 

public lands and natural resources. This includes fostering the 

wisest use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish 

and wildlife, preserving the environmental and cultural values of our 

national parks and historical places, and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses 

our energy and mineral resources and works to assure that their 

development is in the best interests of all our people. The Department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation 

communities and for people who live in island territories under U.S. 

administration. 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

FlSH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 

TAKE PRIDE 

in America 

Ll NlTED STATES 

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FlSH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 

National Wetlands Research Center 

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