Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T12:41:56.122Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A model for the phenotypic plasticity of North sea herring growth in relation to trophic conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 1998

Yunne-Jai Shin
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de mathématiques appliquées à l'exploitation des ressources halieutiques et aquacoles, rue de l'île d'Yeu, BP 21105, 44311 Nantes cedex 3, France
Marie-Joëlle Rochet
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de mathématiques appliquées à l'exploitation des ressources halieutiques et aquacoles, rue de l'île d'Yeu, BP 21105, 44311 Nantes cedex 3, France
Get access

Abstract

An adaptation of the von Bertalanffy growth model is formulated to describe the phenotypic plasticity of fish somatic growth in relation to trophic conditions. The model is developed for the North sea Downs herring (Clupea harengus). It suggests that annual growth variability during 1974-1990 was mainly due to the combined effects of herring abundance and wind-induced turbulence (coincident with the spring stratification of the water column). Springtime turbulences cause reduced and delayed planktonic blooms preceding the annual foraging period of Downs herring. The negative relation observed between herring abundance and growth is hypothesized to be due to intra-specific competition for trophic resources. Incorporated into the calculation of yield per recruit, the established growth model provides slightly more optimistic diagnoses while dropping the classic assumption of constant weight at age.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Elsevier, IRD, Inra, Ifremer, Cemagref, CNRS, 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)