Biology
The diet of S. aeolus changes as the fish progresses from a juvenile to an adult. Juveniles primarily eat small zooplankton, such as calanoid copepods while adults tend to consume larger benthic prey, such as polychaetes, shrimps, and crabs. Examination of the gut of adults has shown the latter three items were the most important prey, together constituting more than 70% of stomach contents by volume. There does not appear to be any seasonal shift in diet in either juveniles or adults of the species.
Oriental trumpeter whiting are reproductively mature at around 130mm in 50% of fish, with the minimum a length of 113mm in males and 109mm in females. They are multiple spawners, that spawn continuously throughout the year with peaks in reproduction that appear to vary geographically. Studies in Thailand indicate the peak is between July and December, while studies in Japan show a peak in February to May. Otolith studies show both females and males attained 60% and 91% of individuals at maturity respectively at the end of their first year of life. The attainment of large size by the end of the first year of life is of considerable advantage, since many individuals do not survive until the end of their second year.
Read more about this topic: Oriental Trumpeter Whiting
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