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37<br />
Mean age of individuals from the middle and lower coast was statistically similar (p=0.91).<br />
Hatch-date distributions were generated for the three sites using age-length keys. While <strong>Scartella</strong><br />
<strong>cristata</strong> hatch throughout the year on the Texas coast, 48.2% of hatchings occurred between January and<br />
March with an additional 29.9% taking place in April and May (Fig.17). The majority of individuals<br />
(67.5%) captured in Galveston hatched between January and May (Fig. 18) with activity peaking in<br />
January and March. Hatch-date distributions were more protracted in Port Aransas, lasting from January<br />
to early July and peaking between April and June (Fig. 19). South Padre Island was the site of year-round,<br />
low level hatching activity that peaked October to March (Fig. 20).<br />
20<br />
% of individuals<br />
15<br />
10<br />
5<br />
0<br />
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC<br />
Fig. 17. Pooled hatch date distribution of <strong>Scartella</strong> <strong>cristata</strong> collected from Galveston, Port Aransas, and South Padre<br />
Is land, TX and colle cted between July 2000 and August 2001.<br />
<strong>Scartella</strong> <strong>cristata</strong> grew at a rate of 0.25 (r 2 =0.69), 0.26 (r 2 =0.51), and 0.20 (r 2 =0.34) mm/day at<br />
Galveston, Port Aransas, and South Padre Island, respectively (Fig. 21). Growth rate among sites was<br />
statistically similar (p=0.252) and yielded a composite value of 0.2 (r 2 =0.44) mm/day.
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