Length-weight relationship and condition of Leistomus xanthurus Lacepede, and Micropogon undulatus (Linnaeus) in Galveston Bay, Texas.

Length-weight data on juvenile spot, L. xanthurus, and Atlantic croaker, M. undulatus, taken in Galveston Bay, Texas (USA) during 1963, were used to examine variations in condition of fish between nursery areas within the bay and with size of fish, time, temperature and salinity. Changes in the condition of spot were associated with habitat, size, season, and temperature and in the condition of Atlantic croaker with size, season, and salinity. Because these fish were immature, gonad development was discounted as a causative factor; and it was concluded that changes in condition represented changes in body form associated with growth and fatness that are in turn associated with suitablility of the environment.