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Early Life-History Implications Of Selected Carcharhinoid And Lamnoid Sharks Of The Northwest Atlantic, Steven Branstetter

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The size of most newborn sharks makes them susceptible to predation from their own kind and other large fishes. In the northwestern Atlantic, juvenile nursery grounds can be generally classified according to whether or not the young are exposed to such predatory risk. Several related factors-breeding frequency, litter size, size at birth, early growth rate-may help offset early natural mortality. These factors are counterbalanced by the different species in several different ways, producing numerous early life history strategies. In general, slow growing species are either born at relatively large sizes or use protected nursery grounds, whereas faster growing species tend …