Effects of adult age and size structure on reproductive output in marine fishes

Abstract

Manuscript sent to me by Ed Dec. 1996. p 32.5 Examines: 1. stock egg production; 2. egg size, qualtiy and hatching success; 3. larval size and performance; 4. sperm quality; 5. timing and duration of spawning. "the reproductive potential of small adults is not equivalent to that from adults of a range of sizes even when their biomass is equivalent, and to assume so in stock-recruitment relationships may seriously bias estimates of a stock's reproductive potential. This result appears to be particularly important for marine batch-spawners. Future investigations of fish-stock recruitment theory are challenged to revise conventional methodologies and incorporate these findings."