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VIMS Articles

Fisheries Science Peer-Reviewed Articles

2017

Articles 1 - 25 of 25

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Comparison Of Age-Frequency Distributions For Ocean Quahogs Arctica Islandica On The Western Atlantic Us Continental Shelf, Sara M. Pace, Eric N. Powell, Roger L. Mann, M. Chase Long Dec 2017

Comparison Of Age-Frequency Distributions For Ocean Quahogs Arctica Islandica On The Western Atlantic Us Continental Shelf, Sara M. Pace, Eric N. Powell, Roger L. Mann, M. Chase Long

VIMS Articles

Geographic differences in the age structure of 4 populations of ocean quahogs Arctica islandica throughout the range of the stock within the US exclusive economic zone were examined. The ages of animals fully recruited to the commercial fishery (≥80 mm shell length) were estimated using annual growth lines in the hinge plate. The observed age frequency from each site was used to develop an age−length key enabling reconstruction of the population age frequency for the site. Within-site variability was high for both age-at-length and length-at-age; a single age−length key could not be applied and would not result in accurate age …


Performance Of A Low-Cost, Solar-Powered Pop-Up Satellite Archival Tag For Assessing Post-Release Mortality Of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus) Caught In The Us East Coast Light-Tackle Recreational Fishery, William M. Goldsmith, Andrew M. Scheld, John Graves Nov 2017

Performance Of A Low-Cost, Solar-Powered Pop-Up Satellite Archival Tag For Assessing Post-Release Mortality Of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus) Caught In The Us East Coast Light-Tackle Recreational Fishery, William M. Goldsmith, Andrew M. Scheld, John Graves

VIMS Articles

Pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) are a valuable tool for estimating mortality of pelagic fishes released from commercial and recreational fishing gears. However, the high cost of PSATs limits sample sizes, resulting in low-precision post-release mortality estimates with little management applicability. We evaluate the performance of a lower-cost PSAT designed to enable large-scale post-release mortality studies. The tag uses solar rather than battery power, does not include a depth sensor, and transmits daily summaries of light and temperature data rather than high-resolution habitat profiles, contributing to a substantially lower per-unit price. We assessed the tag’s ability to detect mortality while …


Reef Height Drives Threshold Dynamics Of Restored Oyster Reefs, Allison M. Colden, Robert J. Latour, Rom Lipcius Nov 2017

Reef Height Drives Threshold Dynamics Of Restored Oyster Reefs, Allison M. Colden, Robert J. Latour, Rom Lipcius

VIMS Articles

Nonlinear threshold responses to biotic or abiotic forcing may produce multiple population trajectories dependent upon initial conditions, which can reinforce population recovery or drive local ex - tinction, yet experimental tests of this phenomenon are lacking in marine ecosystems. In field experiments at 4 sites in 2 tributaries of lower Chesapeake Bay, we examined demographic responses (density and survival) of eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica populations to reef height and associated gradients in sediment deposition and habitat complexity. After 2 yr, oyster reefs exhibited diverging trajectories to ward either degradation or persistence, dependent upon initial reef height. Reefs higher than 0.3 …


Impact Of Disease On The Survival Of Three Commercially Fished Species, John M. Hoenig, Maya L. Groner, Matthew W. Smith, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein, David M. Taylor, Donald F. Landers, John T. Swenarton, David T. Gauthier, Philip W. Sadler, Mark A. Matsche, Ashley N. Haines, Hamish J. Small, Roger Pradel, Remi Choquet, Jeffrey D. Shields Oct 2017

Impact Of Disease On The Survival Of Three Commercially Fished Species, John M. Hoenig, Maya L. Groner, Matthew W. Smith, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein, David M. Taylor, Donald F. Landers, John T. Swenarton, David T. Gauthier, Philip W. Sadler, Mark A. Matsche, Ashley N. Haines, Hamish J. Small, Roger Pradel, Remi Choquet, Jeffrey D. Shields

VIMS Articles

Recent increases in emergent infectious diseases have raised concerns about the sustainability of some marine species. The complexity and expense of studying diseases in marine systems often dictate that conservation and management decisions are made without quantitative data on population-level impacts of disease. Mark-recapture is a powerful, underutilized, tool for calculating impacts of disease on population size and structure, even in the absence of etiological information. We applied logistic regression models to mark-recapture data to obtain estimates of disease-associated mortality rates in three commercially important marine species: snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) in Newfoundland, Canada, that experience sporadic epizootics of bitter …


Community Interactions And Density Dependence In The Southeast United States Coastal Shark Complex, Cassidy D. Peterson, Kristene D. Parsons, Dana M. Bethea, William B. Driggers Iii, Robert J. Latour Sep 2017

Community Interactions And Density Dependence In The Southeast United States Coastal Shark Complex, Cassidy D. Peterson, Kristene D. Parsons, Dana M. Bethea, William B. Driggers Iii, Robert J. Latour

VIMS Articles

Studies aiming to assess intra- and interspecies community relationships in marine habitats are typically limited to accessible, nearshore areas of restricted temporal and spatial scale, within which only segments of the populations of interest are available. Using multivariate first-order auto regressive state-space (MARSS-1) models, we estimated measures of interspecies interactions and density dependence of 7 Atlantic coastal shark species (4 large and 3 small coastal sharks) at 2 spatial scales. Localized analyses were based on data from 4 relatively spatially limited, fishery-independent surveys conducted along the southeast US Atlantic coast and within the Gulf of Mexico. We then compared these …


Spatiotemporal Trends And Drivers Of Fish Condition In Chesapeake Bay, Robert J. Latour, James Gartland, Christopher F. Bonzek Sep 2017

Spatiotemporal Trends And Drivers Of Fish Condition In Chesapeake Bay, Robert J. Latour, James Gartland, Christopher F. Bonzek

VIMS Articles

Measures of condition in fishes are often used to assess the general well-being of fish populations since condition reflects the biotic and abiotic factors experienced by individuals over moderate time scales. Fish condition can also be used as an indicator of ecosystem suitability in the context of ecosystem-based management. From an ecosystem perspective, evaluation of fish condition is best described over multiple spatiotemporal scales and in a multi-species context. This study analyzed 14 yr (2002-2015) of fisheries-independent trawl survey data to evaluate trends in condition for 16 demersal fishes inhabiting Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the USA. Seasonal and …


History Of The Virginia Oyster Fishery, Chesapeake Bay, Usa, David M. Schulte May 2017

History Of The Virginia Oyster Fishery, Chesapeake Bay, Usa, David M. Schulte

VIMS Articles

Oyster populations in Virginia's waters of Chesapeake Bay were lightly exploited until the early 1800s, when industrial fishery vessels first arrived, driven south from New England due to the collapse of northeastern oyster fisheries. Early signs of overexploitation and habitat degradation were evident by the 1850s. The public fishery, where oyster fishers harvest on state-owned bottom, rapidly developed after the Civil War and peaked in the early 1880s. Declines were noted by the late 1880s and eventually prompted the creation of Virginia's shell-planting and oyster-seed (young-of-the-year, YOY) moving repletion program in the 1920s. Despite management and increasing repletion efforts, the …


Satellite Tracking And Site Fidelity Of Short Ocean Sunfish, Mola Ramsayi, In The Galapagos Islands, Tierney M. Thys, Alex R. Hearn, Kevin C. Weng, John P. Ryan, César A Peñaherrera-Palm May 2017

Satellite Tracking And Site Fidelity Of Short Ocean Sunfish, Mola Ramsayi, In The Galapagos Islands, Tierney M. Thys, Alex R. Hearn, Kevin C. Weng, John P. Ryan, César A Peñaherrera-Palm

VIMS Articles

Ocean sunfishes, with their peculiar morphology, large size, and surface habits, are valuable assets in ecotourism destinations worldwide. This study investigates site fidelity and long-range movements of short ocean sunfish, Mola ramsayi (Giglioli 1883), at Punta Vicente Roca (PVR) off Isabela Island in the Galapagos Islands. Five individuals were tracked between 32 and 733 days using ultrasonic receivers and transmitters. Two of the 5 were also tracked with towed pop-off satellite tags. One travelled to the equatorial front covering 2700 km in 53 days, with dive depths in the upper 360 m at temperatures between 9.2°C and 22°C. During its …


Projections Of Climate-Driven Changes In Tuna Vertical Habitat Based On Species-Specific Differences In Blood Oxygen Affinity, Kas Mislan, Ca Deutsch, Richard Brill, Jp Dunne, Jl Sarmiento Jan 2017

Projections Of Climate-Driven Changes In Tuna Vertical Habitat Based On Species-Specific Differences In Blood Oxygen Affinity, Kas Mislan, Ca Deutsch, Richard Brill, Jp Dunne, Jl Sarmiento

VIMS Articles

Oxygen concentrations are hypothesized to decrease in many areas of the ocean as a result of anthropogenically driven climate change, resulting in habitat compression for pelagic animals. The oxygen partial pressure, pO(2), at which blood is 50% saturated (P-50) is a measure of blood oxygen affinity and a gauge of the tolerance of animals for low ambient oxygen. Tuna species display a wide range of blood oxygen affinities (i.e., P-50 values) and therefore may be differentially impacted by habitat compression as they make extensive vertical movements to forage on subdaily time scales. To project the effects of end-of-the-century climate change …


Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica [Gmelin, 1791]) Mortality At Prolonged Exposures To High Temperature And Low Salinity, Melissa Southworth, M. Chase Long, Roger L. Mann Jan 2017

Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica [Gmelin, 1791]) Mortality At Prolonged Exposures To High Temperature And Low Salinity, Melissa Southworth, M. Chase Long, Roger L. Mann

VIMS Articles

Mortality of two size classes (35 mm) of eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica when exposed to combinations of low salinity (1, 2, 3, and 4) for extended periods (up to 30 days) at summer water temperatures typical of the Virginia Chesapeake Bay subestuaries was examined. A critical salinity-temperature combination of less than two at greater than 28 degrees C for more than 1 wk exposure for oyster mortality is suggested. A review of limited historical salinity-temperature tolerance data suggest selection of local populations of oysters having differing salinity tolerances. Such selection may prove critical to persistence of low-salinity populations in the …


Advancing The Link Between Ocean Connectivity, Ecological Function And Management Challenges, M Hidalgo, Dm Kaplan, La Kerr, Jr Watson, Cb Paris, Hi Browman Jan 2017

Advancing The Link Between Ocean Connectivity, Ecological Function And Management Challenges, M Hidalgo, Dm Kaplan, La Kerr, Jr Watson, Cb Paris, Hi Browman

VIMS Articles

Ocean connectivity is a dynamic and rapidly evolving field of research in marine science, partly because there is an increasing demand for information on connectivity that informs effective assessment and management of marine resources. Achieving this will require a better alignment between ocean connectivity tools and developments and the needs and challenges of assessments and conservation. For these reasons, the ICES Journal of Marine Science solicited contributions to the article theme set (TS), "Beyond ocean connectivity." We briefly summarize the nine articles that appear herein, grouping them into four general topics: methodological advances, population dynamics and assessment implications of connectivity, …


Population And Reproductive Biology Of The Channeled Whelk, Busycotypus Canaliculatus, In The Us Mid-Atlantic, Robert A. Fisher, David Rudders Jan 2017

Population And Reproductive Biology Of The Channeled Whelk, Busycotypus Canaliculatus, In The Us Mid-Atlantic, Robert A. Fisher, David Rudders

VIMS Articles

Channeled whelks, Busycotypus canaliculatus, support commercial fisheries throughout their range along the US Atlantic seaboard. Given the modest amounts of published information available on channeled whelk, this study focuses on understanding the temporal and spatial variations in growth and reproductive biology in the Mid-Atlantic region. Channeled whelks were sampled from three inshore commercially harvested resource areas in the US Mid-Atlantic: Ocean City, MD (OC); Eastern Shore of Virginia (ES); and Virginia Beach, VA (VB). The largest whelk measured 230-mm shell length (SL) and was recorded from OC. Mean SL was largest in OC site (158.1 mm), followed by ES (137.6 …


Modeling The Habitat Distribution Of Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias), By Sex, In Coastal Waters Of The Northeastern United States, Andrea Dell'apa, Maria G. Pennino, Christopher F. Bonzek Jan 2017

Modeling The Habitat Distribution Of Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias), By Sex, In Coastal Waters Of The Northeastern United States, Andrea Dell'apa, Maria G. Pennino, Christopher F. Bonzek

VIMS Articles

A hierarchical Bayesian approach was used to model the spatiotemporal habitat distribution of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) of both sexes (adults) caught during trawl surveys conducted by the Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program in inshore coastal waters between New England and North Carolina during 2007-2013. The best model for predicting catch per unit of effort (CPUE) for this species includes the following relevant variables: bathymetry, sea surface temperature, salinity, chlorophyll- a (chl-a) concentration, season and time of survey, and a random spatial effect for both sexes. Predicted CPUE was related to depth for both sexes; females occurred in shallower …


Redox Reactions And Weak Buffering Capacity Lead To Acidification In The Chesapeake Bay, Wei-Jun Cai, Wei-Jen Huang, George W. Luther Iii, Denis Pierrot, Ming Li, Jeremy Testa, Ming Xue, Andrew Joesoef, Roger L. Mann, Jean Brodeur, Yuan-Yuan Xu, Baoshan Chen, Najid Hussain, George G. Waldbusser, Jeffery Cornwell, W. Michael Kemp Jan 2017

Redox Reactions And Weak Buffering Capacity Lead To Acidification In The Chesapeake Bay, Wei-Jun Cai, Wei-Jen Huang, George W. Luther Iii, Denis Pierrot, Ming Li, Jeremy Testa, Ming Xue, Andrew Joesoef, Roger L. Mann, Jean Brodeur, Yuan-Yuan Xu, Baoshan Chen, Najid Hussain, George G. Waldbusser, Jeffery Cornwell, W. Michael Kemp

VIMS Articles

The combined effects of anthropogenic and biological CO2 inputs may lead to more rapid acidification in coastal waters compared to the open ocean. It is less clear, however, how redox reactions would contribute to acidification. Here we report estuarine acidification dynamics based on oxygen, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), pH, dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity data from the Chesapeake Bay, where anthropogenic nutrient inputs have led to eutrophication, hypoxia and anoxia, and low pH. We show that a pH minimum occurs in mid-depths where acids are generated as a result of H2S oxidation in waters mixed upward from the anoxic depths. …


Valuing Ecosystem Services: Oysters, Denitrification, And Nutrient Trading Programs, Gs Depiper, Dw Lipton, Rn Lipcius Jan 2017

Valuing Ecosystem Services: Oysters, Denitrification, And Nutrient Trading Programs, Gs Depiper, Dw Lipton, Rn Lipcius

VIMS Articles

As part of their strategy to meet total maximum daily load restrictions in the Chesapeake Bay, managers have developed nutrient trading markets to curb nitrogen and phosphorus flows into the estuarine system. Historically, nutrient trading programs have been restricted to credits between point sources or for agricultural mitigation technologies, such as the planting of cover crops. However, the denitrification and nutrient sequestration associated with oyster reefs has recently been a topic of much biological research. We investigate the role that nutrient credits for ecosystem services provided by restored oyster reefs can play in optimally managing oyster reef complexes by developing …


Mechanisms Governing Ontogenetic Habitat Shifts: Role Of Trade-Offs, Predation, And Cannibalism For The Blue Crab, Amanda Bromilow, Romauld Lipcius Jan 2017

Mechanisms Governing Ontogenetic Habitat Shifts: Role Of Trade-Offs, Predation, And Cannibalism For The Blue Crab, Amanda Bromilow, Romauld Lipcius

VIMS Articles

Nursery habitats play a major role in the population dynamics of marine and estuarine species, with the blue crab Callinectes sapidus serving as a model invertebrate. The current paradigm of blue crab habitat use postulates that juvenile survival decreases with size in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) due to a reduction in suitably scaled refuge, triggering an ontogenetic shift from SAV to unvegetated habitats. However, alternative mechanisms for this habitat shift have not been examined. We evaluated the paradigm of blue crab habitat use by conducting field tethering experiments in York River (Virginia, USA) nursery habitats using a broad range of …


Recovery Of Visual Function In Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus Stenolepis) After Exposure To Bright Light, Christopher Magel, Clifford Ryer, Richard Brill Jan 2017

Recovery Of Visual Function In Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus Stenolepis) After Exposure To Bright Light, Christopher Magel, Clifford Ryer, Richard Brill

VIMS Articles

Commercial fishing exposes Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) to a myriad of stressors during capture, processing, and discarding, including exposure to direct sunlight that causes diminished retinal sensitivity. It is unknown, however, whether recovery occurs. We therefore employed both electroretinography and a behavioral assay to measure recovery of retinal sensitivity and visual function in halibut exposed to 15 min of simulated sunlight. We used electroretinography to measure changes in retinal light sensitivity after recovery periods of 2, 4, 6 and 10 weeks and a behavioral assay to measure responsiveness to simulated prey (i.e., in behavioral trials) to measure visual function after …


Forensic Reconstruction Of Ictalurus Punctatus Invasion Routes Using On-Line Fishermen Records, Filipe Banha, Ana Verissimo, Filipe Ribeiro, Anastacio Filipe Jan 2017

Forensic Reconstruction Of Ictalurus Punctatus Invasion Routes Using On-Line Fishermen Records, Filipe Banha, Ana Verissimo, Filipe Ribeiro, Anastacio Filipe

VIMS Articles

In this work, the presence of the channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus in the Portuguese section of the Guadiana drainage (Iberian Peninsula) is confirmed based on morphological and molecular species identification. The spatial and temporal dispersal of this non-native catfish was also reconstructed for the Guadiana drainage, based mostly on online fishermen records with minor contributions from the few scientific reports available. The obtained records (mainly from angling fora) span the period since the species' first reported presence in Iberia (1980s) up to the present, and support a westward invasion pattern of non-native fish (NNF) reported for the Iberian fish invasion …


World Without Borders-Genetic Population Structure Of A Highly Migratory Marine Predator, The Blue Shark (Prionace Glauca), Ana Verssimo, Iris Sampaio, Jan Mcdowell, Paulo Alexandrino, Gonzalo Mucientes, Nuno Queiroz, Charlene Da Silva, Catherine S. Jones, Leslie R. Noble Jan 2017

World Without Borders-Genetic Population Structure Of A Highly Migratory Marine Predator, The Blue Shark (Prionace Glauca), Ana Verssimo, Iris Sampaio, Jan Mcdowell, Paulo Alexandrino, Gonzalo Mucientes, Nuno Queiroz, Charlene Da Silva, Catherine S. Jones, Leslie R. Noble

VIMS Articles

Highly migratory, cosmopolitan oceanic sharks often exhibit complex movement patterns influenced by ontogeny, reproduction, and feeding. These elusive species are particularly challenging to population genetic studies, as representative samples suitable for inferring genetic structure are difficult to obtain. Our study provides insights into the genetic population structure one of the most abundant and wide-ranging oceanic shark species, the blue shark Prionace glauca, by sampling the least mobile component of the populations, i.e., young-of-year and small juveniles (year; N = 348 individuals), at three reported nursery areas, namely, western Iberia, Azores, and South Africa. Samples were collected in two different time …


Aquaculture Genomics, Genetics And Breeding In The United States: Current Status, Challenges, And Priorities For Future Research, Hisham Abdelrahman, Standish K. Allen Jr. Jan 2017

Aquaculture Genomics, Genetics And Breeding In The United States: Current Status, Challenges, And Priorities For Future Research, Hisham Abdelrahman, Standish K. Allen Jr.

VIMS Articles

Advancing the production efficiency and profitability of aquaculture is dependent upon the ability to utilize a diverse array of genetic resources. The ultimate goals of aquaculture genomics, genetics and breeding research are to enhance aquaculture production efficiency, sustainability, product quality, and profitability in support of the commercial sector and for the benefit of consumers. In order to achieve these goals, it is important to understand the genomic structure and organization of aquaculture species, and their genomic and phenomic variations, as well as the genetic basis of traits and their interrelationships. In addition, it is also important to understand the mechanisms …


Multispecies Extensions To A Nonequilibrium Length-Based Mortality Estimator, Quang C. Huynh, Todd Gedamke, John M. Hoenig, Clay Porch Jan 2017

Multispecies Extensions To A Nonequilibrium Length-Based Mortality Estimator, Quang C. Huynh, Todd Gedamke, John M. Hoenig, Clay Porch

VIMS Articles

Recent advances in methodology allow the history of the total mortality rate experienced by a population to be estimated from periodic (e.g., annual) observations on themean length of the population. This approach is generalized to allow data on several species that are caught together to be analyzed simultaneously based on the theory that changes in fishing effort are likely to affect several species; thus, the estimation of times when the mortality rate changes for one species borrows strength from data on other, concurrently caught species. Information theory can be used to select among models describing the degree of synchrony (if …


Estimates Of Sea Scallop (Placopecten Magellanicus) Incidental Mortality From Photographic Multiple Before-After-Control-Impact Surveys, Dm Ferraro, Ac Trembanis, Dc Mille, David Rudders Jan 2017

Estimates Of Sea Scallop (Placopecten Magellanicus) Incidental Mortality From Photographic Multiple Before-After-Control-Impact Surveys, Dm Ferraro, Ac Trembanis, Dc Mille, David Rudders

VIMS Articles

After several decades of stock decline, the Atlantic sea scallop ( Placopecten magellanicus) resource has rebounded to become one of the most valuable fisheries in the United States. The continued sustainability of this fishery is supported by catch limits determined by annual stock projection models. Incidental mortality is an important term in these projection models, but is historically difficult to measure. Current estimates are derived from field experiments that relied heavily on qualitative observations and as a result are based on limited data with low precision. To better quantify incidental mortality, a multiple before-after-control-impact experimental design was used to measure …


Development Of An Age-Frequency Distribution For Ocean Quahogs (Arctica Islandica) On Georges Bank, Sm Pace, En Powell, Roger L. Mann, M. Chase Long, John M. Klinck Jan 2017

Development Of An Age-Frequency Distribution For Ocean Quahogs (Arctica Islandica) On Georges Bank, Sm Pace, En Powell, Roger L. Mann, M. Chase Long, John M. Klinck

VIMS Articles

Ocean quahogs [Arctica islandica (Linnaeus, 1769)] are the longest-lived, noncolonial animal known today, with a maximum life span exceeding 500 y. Ocean quahogs are a commercially important bivalve, inhabiting the continental shelf of the North Atlantic Basin. Although considerable information exists on the growth and physiology of A. islandica, limited information is available regarding recruitment; accordingly, sustainably managing the fishery is a challenge. To investigate long-termrecruitment trends, the age of ocean quahogs fromGeorges Bank which were fully recruited to the commercial fishery (>80 mm shell length) was determined by analysis of annual growth lines in the hinge plate. Ages …


Low Apparent Survival And Heterogeneous Movement Patterns Of Invasive Blue Catfish In A Coastal River, Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio, Aj Norris, M Groves Jan 2017

Low Apparent Survival And Heterogeneous Movement Patterns Of Invasive Blue Catfish In A Coastal River, Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio, Aj Norris, M Groves

VIMS Articles

Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus were purposefully introduced into freshwater tributaries to Chesapeake Bay in the past, and populations have subsequently spread to new areas, negatively impacting native communities and causing concern for resource managers. To aid development of management strategies, we implemented a multiyear (2012-2015) tagging study of invasive Blue Catfish in a 40-km stretch of the Potomac River to estimate survival and assess movement patterns. Blue Catfish (N = 1,237) were captured by electrofishing and double-tagged to allow us to estimate tag retention rates; we used reward tags to increase reporting rates. Recaptured fish (N = 104; 8.4% return …


Condition Indices As Surrogates Of Energy Density And Lipid Content In Juveniles Of Three Fish Species, Rw Schloesser, Mary C. Fabrizio Jan 2017

Condition Indices As Surrogates Of Energy Density And Lipid Content In Juveniles Of Three Fish Species, Rw Schloesser, Mary C. Fabrizio

VIMS Articles

To guide the selection of condition indices for juvenile fishes, we compared the ability of several indirect condition indices (those based on length-mass relationships, the hepatosomatic index, and relative lipid estimates from the Distell fish fatmeter) to assess energy density and lipid content of Summer Flounder Paralichthys dentatus, Striped BassMorone saxatilis, and Atlantic Croakers Micropogonias undulatus. These species use estuarine areas as nurseries, but they have different life history strategies and ecological niches that affect their energy storage strategies. We tested hypotheses that differences in the distribution and role of lipids as energy stores among species would influence the suitability …