Many collapsed fish populations have failed to recover after a decade or more with little fishing. This may reflect evolutionary change in response to the highly selective mortality imposed by fisheries. Recent experimental work has demonstrated a rapid genetic change in growth rate in response to size-selective harvesting of laboratory fish populations. Here, we use a 30-year time-series of back-calculated lengths-at-age to test for a genetic response to size-selective mortality in the wild in a heavily exploited population of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Controlling for the effects of density- and temperature-dependent growth, the change in mean length of 4-year-old cod between offspring and their parental cohorts was positively correlated with the estimated selection differential experienced by the parental cohorts between this age and spawning. This result supports the hypothesis that there have been genetic changes in growth in this population in response to size-selective fishing. Such changes may account for the continued small size-at-age in this population despite good conditions for growth and little fishing for over a decade. This study highlights the need for management regimes that take into account the evolutionary consequences of fishing.

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Data taken from the literature were used to develop and compare predictors of fish biomass and yield in lakes. Two new indices, total phosphorus concentration and macrobenthos biomass/mean depth, were the best univariate predictors offish yield (r2 = 0.84 and r2 = 0.48, respectively) and biomass (r2 = 0.75 and r2 = 0.83, respectively) for four different data sets. Both new indices were stronger predictors of fish yield when compared to the morphoedaphic index, total dissolved solids, or mean depth for the same data set. The relatively constant relationship between fish biomass and macrobenthos biomass/mean depth implies a near-constant energy transfer from the benthos to the fish regardless of the number of fish species present.Key words: biomass, yield, fish, macrobenthos, phosphorus, depth, dissolved solids, morphoedaphic index, lakes

We used data taken from the literature to develop and compare several estimators of crustacean zooplankton biomass (49 lakes) and profundal macrobenthos biomass (38 lakes). Both mean zooplankton biomass (r2 = 0.72, P < 0.001) and mean profundal macrobenthos biomass (r2 = 0.48, P < 0.001) correlated better with mean total phosphorus concentration than with Secchi depth, mean depth, maximum depth, or lake surface area. Mean total phosphorus concentration was also superior to mean chlorophyll a concentration (r2 = 0.57, P < 0.001) as an estimator of zooplankton biomass, but data were insufficient to evaluate chlorophyll a concentration as an estimator of macrobenthos biomass. Inclusion of maximum depth as a variable in a multiple regression resulted in a slight but significant (P < 0.030) improvement in the zooplankton–total phosphorus relationship (R2 = 0.75, P < 0.001). Inclusion of lake surface area as a variable in a multiple regression significantly (P < 0.001) improved the predictive power of the profundal macrobenthos–total phosphorus relationship (R2 = 0.59, P < 0.001).

A 28-year time series (1971–1998) of backcalculated length-at-age was used to investigate changes in the direction and magnitude of size-selective mortality of prerecruit and adult Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. Size selection changed from favouring fast growth in the 1970s to favouring slow growth in the late 1980s and 1990s. There was an intervening period of disruptive selection where fast and slow growth was favoured while intermediate growth rates were selected against. The intensity of size selection declined at the end of the study period following the closure of the commercial fishery. These different forms of selection (positive directional, negative directional, and disruptive selection) can all be accounted for by the sharply dome-shaped curve of fishing mortality against length observed in the fishery.

The relative importance of size-selective mortality, density-dependent growth, and temperature on growth of a commercial fish population was investigated using an integrated statistical analysis. Two indices of size-selective mortality were determined using otolith backcalculations. One index measured the direct effect on population mean growth increments in the year of the growth increment. The second index measured the cumulative effect on the growth potential of a cohort. Indices of population density, occupied temperature, and bottom temperature were developed from annual synoptic research vessel surveys of the population. We simultaneously tested effects of these factors using a modified von Bertalanffy growth model. The strongest effect was variation in size-selective mortality, followed by a negative effect of population density and a weak positive effect of occupied temperature. Effects of bottom temperature conditions were not significant. Failure to simultaneously consider alternative mechanisms, especially size-selective mortality, can lead to incorrect conclusions about the role of environmental factors in determining growth of fishes.

1. The impact of crayfish predation on the abundance of macroinvertebrates was examined under semi-natural conditions. Female (Experiment 1) or male (Experiment 2) crayfish (Orconectes viriUs) were held for 5 weeks in twelve small pools (4.67 m'' surface area) at biomasses of 0. 5. 10 or 18 g m""^ (live weight). The pools were stocked with known densities of macroinvertebrates.2. Crayfish significantly affected the abundance of macroinvertebrates in the pools. Differences in the effects of crayfish on macroinvertebrates were related to crayfish sex., the presence of age-0 crayfish, and the species of macroinvertebrate.3. The abundance of snails [Stagnicola elodes and Physa gvrina) was greatly reduced, in comparison with controls, by biomass of female crayfish srlOg m"^and by biomasses of male crayfish 2:5 gm~^. The total density of non-molluscan invertebrates was inversely correlated with the biomass of female crayfish but the total biomass of non-molluscan invertebrates did not differ between treatments. This is consistent with our observation that small invertebrates (<2 mg wet weight) were less numerous., and large amphipods (32-64 mg) were more numerous, in pls stocked with female crayfish. In contrast, male crayfish had little apparent effect on the abundance of non-molluscan invertebrates.4. Age-0 crayfish hatched at the end of Experiment 1 and were present in each pool at the start of Experiment 2. Surprisingly, male crayfish preyed little on age-0 crayfish. At the end of Experiment 2, the densities of age-0 crayfish varied between six and 116 individuals m~~ and there was a strong inverse correlation between the mean biomass and density of age-0 crayfish recovered from the pools. This suggests age-0 crayfish were food limited in the pools and may explain the dominance of oligochaetes (which largely escape predation by burrowing) in the invertebrate community at the end of Experiment 2.5. These results indicate that even relatively low densities of crayfish could greatly affect the abundance of macroinvertebrates in lakes. The introduction of crayfish into lakes (most lakes in Alberta currently have no crayfish) could substantially affect abundance and species composition ofthe macroinvertebrate community and, ultimately, the fish populations.

Resistance to fludarabine is observed in the clinic, and molecular predictive assays for benefit from chemotherapy are required. Our objective was to determine if expression of nucleoside transport and metabolism genes was associated with response to fludarabine therapy in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).