Rapid Reproductive Analysis and Length-Dependent Relationships of Lutjanus biguttatus (Perciformes: Lutjanidae) from Papua New Guinea

We describe a simple, inexpensive method for field-based histological analysis of fish gonads, and we used this method to describe the reproductive biology of the small snapper Lutjanus biguttatus from a remote area in Papua New Guinea (i.e., where laboratory equipment is limited and electrical service is lacking). We estimate male L₅₀ at 13 cm FL and female L₅₀ at 17 cm FL. Sex ratio is not significantly different from 1 : 1. There is no evidence for hermaphroditism. Fork length is a linear function of total length, FL = −0.1823 + 0.9647(TL), and weight is a cubic function of fork length, W = 0.0129(FL)^3.0049. This information was generated during a 2-week period when the majority of our time was occupied by fish surveys. Our analyses were limited by availability of specimens (not processing time); therefore the methods we employed can help fill one of the information voids that preclude life-history-based management of coral-reef fishes.