Environmental Variation and Striped Bass Population Dynamics: A Size-Dependent Mortality Model

摘要: Although density-dependent growth and mortality are understood to play a large role in regulating populations of some young fish, many investigators report associations between striped bass population fluctuations environmental variation, not density. One explanation is that primarily determined by size, which responds through conditions. Mathematically relating inverse size explains several aspects biology. Numerical decline the 1975 Hudson River cohort well predicted. Simulated year-class strength more strongly changes length at hatch than direct eggs. The effect growth, rate on subsequent decreases as fish grow. Small temperature or food density early life could cause reported association variation. Disappearance larvae from an spawning 1976 attributed decreasing water temperature, decreased rate. Increased may also result sublethal exposure toxicants decrease hatch. approach modeling dynamics developed here should be valid for other estuarine marine species.