DISTRIBUTION AND LIFE-HISTORY OF WINDOWPANE, SCOPHTHALMUS-AQUOSUS, OFF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED-STATES

The windowpane, Scophthalmus aquosus, is a shallow water (<110 m), res ident species of the Middle Atlantic Eight (and adjacent estuaries) an d Georges Bank, although it may undergo short (both inshore-offshore a nd alongshore) migrations in response to seasonal temperature changes. Spawning occurred throughout the Middle Atlantic Eight during the per iod from 1977 to 1987 but was most pronounced on Georges Bank. The tim ing of spawning, determined from the collection of 2-4 mm larvae, vari ed with location; and a split spawning season (April-May and October-N ovember) was evident in the Middle Atlantic Eight. Spawning on Georges Bank peaked in August. Although spawning occurred over a broad temper ature range (5-23 degrees C), the optimal temperature was 16-19 degree s C in the Middle Atlantic Eight and 13-16 degrees C on Georges Bank. Larval development occurred in areas of spawning and was most prolonge d on Georges Bank, where the largest larvae (13-20 mm) were consistent ly found. Few larvae >8 mm were captured in the Middle Atlantic Eight. On the basis of samples from southern New Jersey, settlement probably occurs on the continental shelf and in adjacent estuaries of the Midd le Atlantic Eight. The growth patterns of young of the year varied wit h the timing of spawning and subsequent settlement. In the first six m onths, fish of the spring-spawned cohort grew to 11-19 cm TL whereas t hose of the fall-spawned cohort grew to just 4-8 cm TL within that tim e. These data contribute to our understanding of the distribution and early life history of windowpane on the continental shelf, though the role of estuaries in the Middle Atlantic Eight is incompletely known.