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Spatial and Temporal Variability in Juvenile Pacific Herring, Clupea pallasi, Growth in Prince William Sound, Alaska

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Abstract

We examined the spatial and temporal variability of juvenile Pacific herring, Clupea pallasi, growth within Prince William Sound, Alaska. Pacific herring, ranging from post-larval to mature fish, were collected from four spatially segregated bays between October 1995 and March 1998. Linear growth equations from each bay were similar. However, growth rates and wet weight-at-length, reflecting condition, of juvenile Pacific herring cohorts varied seasonally and annually. The short term spatial variability in juvenile Pacific herring growth suggested that each bay was a unique nursery area. The physical and biological conditions within each bay appeared to dictate Pacific herring growth rate.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7220, U.S.A

    Robert J. Foy & Brenda L. Norcross

  2. Center for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 706 South Rodney French Boulevard, New Bedford, MA, 02744-1221, U.S.A. (e-mail

    Kevin D.E. Stokesbury

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  1. Kevin D.E. Stokesbury
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  2. Robert J. Foy
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  3. Brenda L. Norcross
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Stokesbury, K.D., Foy, R.J. & Norcross, B.L. Spatial and Temporal Variability in Juvenile Pacific Herring, Clupea pallasi, Growth in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Environmental Biology of Fishes 56, 409–418 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007557509202

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