An indeterminate model to estimate egg production of the highly iteroparous and fecund fish, dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus)
Abstract
Dolphinfish, Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus, 1758, reproductive biology is well known, but this study, which examined gonad histology, substantially increases estimates of dolphinfish spawning fraction and annual egg production. Ovaries were collected from 621 females in three Florida regions: the Keys, Cape Canaveral, and the Panhandle. Maturation and spawning were evident in all three regions. Median size at maturity, 419 mm fork length (FL; 16.5 in, ?3 mo), was not regionally specific around Florida. Recruitment of primary oocytes to vitellogenesis occurred asynchronously throughout the spawning season, and mature oocytes developed group-synchronously as batches. Thus, an indeterminate method was required to estimate egg production. Once mature, females spawned 70-180 d yr-1. Some females spawned in all months of the year, but spawning fraction was highest in winter and spring. Batch fecundity (BF) ranged from 20,000 to 620,000 eggs and was significantly related to FL: BF = 0.000005 × FL3.62. An egg production model estimated a range from 15 to 174 million eggs yr-1, two orders of magnitude higher than the previous estimate (0.24-3.0 million eggs yr-1) in the Florida Straits. This new, higher estimate arises because our large sample size of gonad histology permitted estimation of spawning fraction throughout the year. Spawning early and often should make C. hippurus resilient to overfishing, but other data gaps�particularly regarding bycatch mortality�confound our ability to…
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Such relatively small differences in reproductive parameters may not be biologically significant, especially for lionfish that mature early.
“Regardless, such relatively small differences may not be biologically significant, especially for lionfish that mature early (McBride et al., 2012).”
From Reproductive biology of invasive lionfish (Pterois spp.) (2015) · cites this paper as McBride et al., 2012
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Energy acquisition and allocation to egg production in relation to fish reproductive strategies
McBride, R. S., Somarakis, S., Fitzhugh, G. R., Albert, A., Yaragina, N. A., Wuenschel, M. J., Alonso‐Fernández, A., & Basilone, G. (2013) · Fish and Fisheries · doi:10.1111/faf.12043 · Cited by 522 · see citing works
“For example, a large dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus, Coryphaenidae; approximately 1 m) can produce more than 100 million eggs per year (McBride et al. 2012).”
BackgroundSelf-citationReproductive biology of invasive lionfish (Pterois spp.)
Gardner, P. G., Frazer, T. K., Jacoby, C. A., & Yanong, R. P. E. (2015) · Frontiers in Marine Science · doi:10.3389/fmars.2015.00007 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Moltó, V., Hernández, P., Sinopoli, M., Besbes-Benseddik, A., Besbes, R., Mariani, A., Gambin, M., Alemany, F., Morales-Nin, B., Grau, A., et al. (2020) · Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture · doi:10.1080/23308249.2020.1757618 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
The Continuing Role of Life History Parameters to Identify Stock Structure
McBride, R. (2014) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-397003-9.00005-9 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Self-citationPress, Y. K., McBride, R., & Wuenschel, M. (2014) · Journal of Fish Biology · doi:10.1111/jfb.12431 · Cited by 20
Self-citationMaggio, T., Allegra, A., Andaloro, F., Barreiros, J. P., Battaglia, P., Butler, C. M., Cuttitta, A., Fontes, J., Freitas, R., Gatt, M., et al. (2018) · ICES Journal of Marine Science · doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsy174 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“Annual fecundities of females in the western Atlantic are estimated to be 15–174 million eggs, depending on the size of a fish (McBride et al., 2012).”
BackgroundChang, S.-K., DiNardo, G., Farley, J., Brodziak, J., & Yuan, Z. (2013) · doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2013.05.003 · Cited by 14
Kloeblen, S., Stieglitz, J., Suárez, J. A., Grosell, M., & Benetti, D. (2018) · doi:10.1111/are.13459 · Cited by 14
“Mahimahi can also spawn 70–180 days/year in the wild producing a batch fecundity ranging from 20,000 to 620,000 eggs/spawn (McBride et al., 2012).”
BackgroundCollins, A., & McBride, R. (2015) · doi:10.1111/fme.12102 · Cited by 13
Self-citationKyrgiafini, M.-A., Giannoulis, T., Moutou, K. A., & Mamuris, Z. (2022) · Genes · doi:10.3390/genes13112151 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Assana, K., Rajesh, M., & Rajesh, K. M. (2021) · Indian Journal of Fisheries · doi:10.21077/ijf.2021.68.1.102450-03 · Cited by 4
“…noticed in Lm50 values from different regions could be due to the difference in temperature, quantity and quality of the food available for growth, method used to estimate maturity and the genetic difference (Diaz et al., 2010; McBride et al., 2012; Johnson et al., 2013; Maggio et al., 2018).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialDutton, J. (2023) · Environmental science and pollution research international · doi:10.1007/s11356-023-28465-1 · Cited by 2
Holzer, J., & Byler, K. A. (2019) · Marine Policy · doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103538 · Cited by 2
Press, Y., McBride, R., Tholke, E. K., & Wuenschel, M. (2025) · Fishery Bulletin · doi:10.7755/fb.123.1.4 · Cited by 2
Self-citationMaximum Sustainable Yield of Dolphinfish, Coryphaena hippurus (Linnaeus, 1758) Fishery in Pakistan
Baset, A., Tm, H., Waris, A., Liao, B., Am, M., Karim, E., & Ismail, M. (2020) · Journal of Animal Science and Research · doi:10.16966/2576-6457.138 · Cited by 2
Abdussamad, E. M., Surya, S., Rathinam, A., Mini, K. G., Rajesh, K. M., Azeez, P. A., Ratheesh, T., Febna, S., & Dipti, N. V. (2024) · Indian Journal of Fisheries · doi:10.21077/ijf.2024.71.1.131128-04 · Cited by 1
“McBride et al .”
Manas, H. M., Ghosh, S., Rohit, P., Rajesh, K. M., Abdussamad, E. M., Satishkumar, M., Azeez, P. A., Rathinam, A., & Divipala, I. (2025) · Indian Journal of Fisheries · doi:10.21077/ijf.2025.72.1.147500-07
“Studies on reproductive biology of dolphinfish are available from various parts of the world, such as the Western Atlantic (Oxenford, 1999; McBride et al ., 2012; Lira Dos Santos et al ., 2014), Eastern Pacific (Campos et al ., 1993; Zuniga-Flores et al ., 2011), Western Pacific (Wu et al ., 2001;…”
Medina, A., Abascal, F., & Varela, J. L. (2020) · Journal of Fish Biology · doi:10.1111/jfb.14379
- Authors
- McBride, R. S., Snodgrass, D. J., Adams, D. H., Rider, S. J., & Colvocoresses, J. A.
- Venue
- Bulletin of Marine Science
- Publisher
- Bulletin of Marine Science
- Published
- 2012-04-01
- Volume
- 88
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 283-303
- ISSN
- 0007-4977 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1981028497
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 1.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Bulletin of Marine Science (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Marine Fisheries Service
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Marine and fisheries research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Physiology › Reproductive biology and impacts on aquatic species
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Aquatic Science › Fish Biology and Ecology Studies
- Keywords
- dolphinfish, Coryphaena hippurus, egg production, batch fecundity, size at maturity, vitellogenesis, oocyte maturation, spawning seasonality, iteroparity, fisheries management, Florida Straits
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