Abstract
Utilization of empty oyster shells as a habitat and spawning substrate by the naked boby,Gobiosoma bosci, the striped blenny,Chasmodes bosquianus, crested blenny,Hypleurochilus geminatus, and freckled blenny,Hypsoblennius ionthas, was studied in the North Inlet and North Edisto River estuaries of South Carolina. Gape and length of shells occupied by fishes were measured. Fish inhabited and spawned in only a small portion of the size range of shells available.G. bosci, the smallest species studied, spawned in shells with narrower gapes than didC. bosquianus orH. geminatus and in shorter shells than didC. bosquianus. Thus,G. bosci may escape competition for spawning sites. Overall, there was a positive correlation between fish length and both gape and length of shells occupied by egg-guarding males.
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This paper is contribution No. 367 of the Belle W. baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research, No. 417 Gulf Breeze Environmental Research Laboratory and No. 971 Viginia Institute of Marine Science and School of Marine Science, College of William and Mary.
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Crabtree, R.E., Middaugh, D.P. Oyster shell size and the selection of spawning sites byChasmodes bosquianus, Hypleurochilus geminatus, Hypsoblennius ionthas (Pisces, Blenniidae) andGobiosoma bosci (Pisces, Gobiidae) in two South Carolina estuaries. Estuaries 5, 150–155 (1982). https://doi.org/10.2307/1352113
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1352113