Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Document 06-21
A Laboratory Guide to the Identification
of Marine Fish Eggs Collected
on the Northeast Coast, 1977-1994
by by Peter
L. Berrien1 (retired) and John
D. Sibunka2
1E-mail: plberrien@comcast.net;
Address: P O Box 927, Dennis MA 02638
2E-mail: john.sibunka@noaa.gov;
Address: National
Marine Fisheries Service, 74 Magruder Rd, Sandy Hook NJ 07732
Print
publication date September 2006;
web version posted September 26, 2006
Citation: Berrien PL, Sibunka JD. 2006. A laboratory guide to the identification
of marine fish eggs collected on the northeast coast of the United States, 1977-1994.
US Dep Commer, Northeast Fish Sci Cent Ref Doc 06-21; 162 p.
Download complete PDF/print version
Note: All associated files are in PDF.
PREFACE
This report presents observations pertaining to the identification
of marine fish eggs collected in continental shelf and slope
waters of the northeast United States, which extends from south
of Cape Hatteras to western Nova Scotia. The information included
here encompasses the time period from 1977 to 1994. Most of the
fish eggs were collected during the 11-year (1977-1987) MARMAP
(Marine Resource Monitoring Assessment and Prediction) program,
and additional egg data were obtained from post-MARMAP survey
cruises from 1988 to 1994. The intention of this report was to
compile the information used for fish egg identification by the
Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) with three specific
objectives: 1) to provide descriptive notes for various fish
taxa on their egg development from fertilization to hatching,
2) to document spawning times for the taxa collected for the
four regions of the Northeast U.S. continental shelf, and 3)
to present data on seasonal and regional variation in egg shell
and oil globule diameters for various taxa.
Descriptive notes regarding the egg development of several
known taxa are not supplied in this guide (e.g. Brevoortia
tyrannus, Scomber scombrus). Information for them
is available in the scientific literature. In addition to the
more common taxa for which the identifications of the eggs were
known, there were many unidentified eggs, some of which share
similar characteristics. For these unidentified eggs we recorded
egg size, shape and sculpturing; the presence or absence of an
oil globule(s); the size and number of the oil globule(s); embryonic
development and pigmentation patterns; geographic area(s) where
they were collected; and time of year collected. These eggs had
similar identification characteristics through progressive developmental
stages and were considered a taxon. Unidentified eggs were assigned
an in-house reference number (e.g., Unknown #90) for cataloging
purposes with the intention that they might eventually be identified.
Both known and unknown egg taxa were also catalogued in the NEFSC
electronic data base using a nine digit bionumeric code for fishes
(Bullis et al. 1972). This bionumeric code for all the unknown
type eggs catalogued in the NEFSC database begins with 100 000
-- for the first six digits, and the last two or three digits
are assigned the unique taxon reference number. If the unidentified
taxon reference number contains only two digits then it will
be preceded with a zero (e.g., Unknown #90 = 100 000 090). The
bionumeric codes are given with the corresponding taxa discussed
in this report.
Fish eggs were staged according to their development end points.
The three principal egg stages commonly referred to in this guide
are:
- Early: represents the period from just spawned to the point
of blastopore closure.
- Middle: represents the period from blastopore
closure to tail bud almost free.
- Late: represents the period
from tail bud free (i.e., slightly undercut) to just before
hatching.
In the taxon discussions these three stages may be further
subdivided for discussion. For example, a discussion of a middle
stage may be further refined to: early-middle, middle-middle
or late-middle. A late stage may also refer to the amount of
embryonic encirclement around the yolk (e.g., ½~, which
means that the embryo, from snout to tailtip, encircles half
of the yolk circumference).
Ichthyoplankton samples collected at sea were initially hardened
and preserved in a 5% formalin solution. The sorted fish eggs
were archived in 3-4% formalin and are stored at the NEFSC Narragansett
(RI) Laboratory. The identification of fish eggs and their measurements
was done using binocular microscopes fitted with calibrated ocular
micrometers. Measurements for egg chorion and oil globule diameters
were made to the nearest 0.01 millimeter. Sizes within parentheses
represent minimum and maximum values observed. The heading dates
listed indicate the most current addition or revision to the
taxa/taxon presented.
This guide is not comprehensive; there are a number of unknown
egg types and relatively little information for early and middle
stage eggs. It is the authors’ goal for this document to
serve as a benchmark presenting the information on egg identification
developed to date. By making this guide available, the authors
hope to assist other researchers in the study of marine fish
eggs and the application of early life stages to fisheries management
questions (e.g., defining Essential Fish Habitat).
Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude to Donna L. Johnson for her advice
and technical assistance in helping to make this publication possible.
We thank Robert N. Reid and Dr. Jonathan A. Hare, whose valuable comments
improved this paper.
Key to Abbreviations
Note: All months of the year are limited to the first three letters.
ant |
= |
anterior |
approx |
= |
approximately |
BL |
= |
body length |
c |
= |
central (used as part of geographical location
under the heading “Area”) |
dbl |
= |
double |
dend |
= |
dendritic |
diam |
= |
diameter |
dors |
= |
dorsal |
e, ea |
= |
early stage egg (used with the number of eggs
measured under the heading “Obs”) |
exp |
= |
expanded |
f- |
= |
fore- |
ffold |
= |
fin fold |
GB |
= |
Georges Bank |
GOM |
= |
Gulf of Maine |
h- |
= |
hind- (e.g. h-brain, h-gut) |
homo |
= |
homogenous |
in |
= |
inshore (used as part of geographical location
under the heading “Area”) |
info |
= |
information |
irreg |
= |
irregular |
la |
= |
late |
lat |
= |
lateral, laterally |
MA, MAB |
= |
Middle Atlantic Bight |
max |
= |
maximum |
melan |
= |
melanophore |
memb |
= |
membrane |
m |
= |
middle stage egg (used with the number of eggs
measured under the heading “Obs”) |
m- |
= |
mid- (e.g., mid-brain) |
min |
= |
minimum |
mon |
= |
month |
multi |
= |
multiple |
n |
= |
north (used as part of geographical location under
the heading “Area”) |
ND |
= |
not defined |
no. |
= |
number |
NYB |
= |
New York Bight |
obs |
= |
observed |
off |
= |
offshore (used as part of geographical location
under the heading “Area”) |
oil g, |
= |
oil globule |
og |
= |
oil globule |
pect |
= |
pectoral |
pigm |
= |
pigment, pigmented, pigmentation |
post |
= |
posterior |
pr |
= |
pair |
pt-to-pt |
= |
point-to-point |
punct |
= |
punctate |
Pv space |
= |
perivitelline space |
s |
= |
south (used as part of geographical location under
the heading “Area”) |
SAB |
= |
South Atlantic Bight |
SD |
= |
standard deviation |
scatt |
= |
scattered |
segm |
= |
segmented |
SN, SNE |
= |
Southern New England |
spp |
= |
species |
sta |
= |
station |
stell |
= |
stellate |
surf |
= |
surface |
trans |
= |
transition |
ttip |
= |
tailtip |
Unk # |
= |
Unknown taxa number (e.g., Unk # 123) |
w |
= |
west (used as part of geographical location under
the heading “Area”) |
Taxa
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Literature
Cited
Bullis HR Jr, Roe RB, Gatlin JC. 1972. The Southeast Fisheries Center
Biometric Code Part 1: Fishes. NOAA Tech Rep NMFS-SSRF-659; 95 p.
Fahay MP. 1983. Guide to the early stages of marine fishes occurring
in the western North Atlantic Ocean, Cape Hatteras to the southern Scotian
Shelf. J Northw Atl Fish Sci 4; 423 p.
Hildebrand SF. 1963. Family Engraulidae. In: Fishes of the western
North Atlantic. Mem Sears Found Mar Res 1(3); 152-249 + figs 25-29.
Jones PW, Martin FD, Hardy JD Jr. 1978. Family Clupeidae. In: Development
of fishes of the Mid-Atlantic Bight: an atlas of egg, larval and juvenile
stages. US Dept Interior, Fish and Wildl Serv, Biol Serv Progr Vol 1:75-150.
Olney JE, Grant GC. 1976. Early planktonic larvae of blackcheek tonguefish,
Syphurus plagiusa (Pisces: Cynoglossidae), in the lower Chesapeake Bay.
Chesapeake Sci 17:229-237.
