Demographic Characteristics of Exploited Tropical Lutjanids: a Comparative Analysis

Demographic parameters from seven exploited coral reef lutjanid species were compared as a case study of the implications of intrafamily variation in life histories for multispecies harvest management. Each species had a unique growth pattern, with differences in length-at-age and mean asymptotic fork length, but smaller species generally grew fast during the first 1–2 years of life and larger species grew more slowly over a longer period. The variability in life history strategies of these tropical lutjanids makes generalizations about lutjanid life histories difficult, but the fact that all seven had characteristics that would make them particularly vulnerable to fishing indicates that harvest of tropical lutjanids should be managed with caution.