habitat_narrative
Marine
Sparodon durbanensis adults are found on high profile, inshore reefs to depths of 20 m (Buxton and Clark 1991), while juveniles inhabit tidal pools, gullies and shallow subtidal reefs to 12 m (Christensen 1978, Beckley 1985a, Beckley 1988, Smale and Buxton 1989, Buxton and Clarke 1991, Watt-Pringle 2009). Juveniles are high residency with 50% of tagged individuals observed at the end of the study period and were generally re-sighted more frequently than Diplodus capensis (Watt-Pringle et al. 2013). Juveniles <15 cm are resident in the intertidal and shallow inshore zone, juveniles/sub-adults from 15 cm to 55 cm FL are resident in the inshore zone, and a proportion of the adult population greater than 60 cm FL are thought to undertake a seasonal northeastern spawning migration to the former Transkei and southern KwaZulu-Natal (Watt-Pringle 2009). Adults of this species feed on gastropods, echinoids, chlorophytes, crustaceans, and polychaetes, while juveniles feed on gastropods, pelecypods, solitary ascidians, pagurids and amphineurans (Buxton and Clarke 1991). The maximum age recorded for S. durbanensis is 31 years, the maximum length recorded is 120 cm TL (van der Elst 1988, Buxton and Clark 1991), and the maximum weight is 22.2 kg (South African Underwater Fishing Federation 2012).Reproduction
Sparodon durbanensis is a late gonochorist (sensu rudimentary hermaphrodite) that spawns from August to January and forms spawning aggregations. The length at 50% maturity was recorded at 35 cm FL and the age at 50% maturity was 5.4 years (Buxton and Clark 1991).
Generation length for S. durbanensis is estimated to be about 13 years, using the following equation for a gonochoristic fish species: Generation length = Σxlxmx/Σlxmx
