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Reproduction in the North Atlantic oceanic ichthyofauna and the relationship between fecundity and species' sizes

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Synopsis

The pelagic (589 spp.) and demersal (505 spp.) oceanic ichthyofaunas of the North Atlantic Basin have very different compositions at ordinal and family level. Yet the pattern of relationships between species' maximum size and maximum fecundity from data available (10% of the pelagic, 19% of the demersal species) was similar. A positive relationship between fecundity and weight was confirmed among most teleosts, but was not followed by the elasmobranchs represented. Species' reproductive styles are reviewed in ordinal groupings within a framework of the overall body size/fecundity distribution. Species size (maximum weight) spectra were synthesized for both pelagic and demersal assemblages to assess the allocation of potential reproductive effort throughout the North Atlantic oceanic ichthyofauna. The only available examples of species size spectra and biomass spectra from the pelagic and demersal ichthyofauna in this ocean basin imply geographic and bathymetric variation in overall reproductive effort among fishes whose fecundity is size dependent. Further implications concerning reproductive effort are discussed in the light of food availability.

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  1. Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW75BD, U.K.

    Nigel R. Merrett

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  1. Nigel R. Merrett
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Merrett, N.R. Reproduction in the North Atlantic oceanic ichthyofauna and the relationship between fecundity and species' sizes. Environ Biol Fish 41, 207–245 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00023814

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00023814

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