Methods of Distinguishing Larval Alewife from Larval Blueback Herring

Chambers, James R.; Musick, John A.; Davis, Jackson

doi:10.2307/1351051

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Flow-induced expansions of flooded forest habitat would be beneficial to both species as long as the swamp is flooded for a sufficient amount of time to allow eggs to hatch, larvae to grow, and slowly be exported to the river (King et al 2003). Chambers et al (1976) or subsequent papers that included them (e.g., Lippson and Moran 1974;Jones et al 1978;and Ripple et al 1982) because of questionable identifications (Sismour 1994a(Sismour , 1994b. Length measurements are for field-collected larvae preserved in 70% ethanol.…”

Section: Implications For River Herring Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Life History of Blueback Herring and Alewife in the Lower Roanoke River, North Carolina

Walsh¹,

Settle²,

Peters³

2005

Trans Am Fish Soc

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Seasonal distribution, abundance, habitat use, hatch dates, growth, and mortality of larval blueback herring Alosa aestivalis and alewife A. pseudoharengus were studied in the Roanoke River watershed, downstream from the Roanoke Rapids Dam in North Carolina. Ichthyoplankton was sampled from man-made canals, a creek, an oxbow, a flooded bottomland hardwood forest, the main river channel, and along the river's edge. To identify larval clupeids, we developed a dichotomous key for clupeids found in the study area using morphometric, meristic, and pigmentation characters synthesized from the literature. Distribution, abundance, and back-calculated hatch dates of larvae and eggs were used to describe spawning period, spawning habitat, and nursery habitat. Blueback herring and alewife eggs and larvae were present from early April through late May. Based on the presence of eggs and early-stage larvae, both species spawned in backwater tributary systems, including flooded bottomland hardwood forests. Our results indicated that blueback herring and alewives used a variety of habitats during early larval stages, though interspecific differences in concentration among habitats were evident. Blueback herring used both lotic (moving water) and lentic (still water) habitats, and alewives were more abundant in lentic habitats. Larval growth varied between years but not between species. Blueback herring growth rates were 0.60 mm/d in 1996 and 0.42 mm/d in 1997 compared with growth rates of 0.65 mm/d in 1996 and 0.41 mm/d in 1997 for alewives. Interspecific and between-year differences in daily mortality of preflexion blueback herring and alewives (age, 4-8 d) were observed. Blueback herring daily percent mortality in 1996 and 1997 was 99%, while alewife rates decreased from 98% in 1996 to 91% in 1997. Fluctuations in river flow affected habitat use; moderate to high discharge rates increased use of spawning and nursery habitats, and low flows reduced use of spawning habitat.

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Section: Implications For River Herring Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Life History of Blueback Herring and Alewife in the Lower Roanoke River, North Carolina

Walsh¹,

Settle²,

Peters³

2005

Trans Am Fish Soc

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“…The migration of the fin takes place at approximately the time when the fin ray number stabilizes. The pelvic fin migrates posleriad in Clupea harengus (Lebour, 1921 (Chambers et al, 1976 Eggs of Clupeiformes illustrating taxonomic characters: number and size of oil globules, width of perivitelline space, degree of yolk segmentation, shape, size. (A) Chirocemrus nudus.…”

Section: Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ontogeny and systematics of fishes : based on an international symposium dedicated to the memory of Elbert Halvor Ahlstrom

Ahlstrom¹

1984

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mortalities occurred at first feeding. Measurements of mortality rates of eggs and larvae at sea tend to show a high but continuing mortality of perhaps 5-20% per day. The results of sea surveys are, however, often difficult to interpret because of the need to sample within a discrete larval population over a long time.May (1974), in his review of this subject, concluded that starvation at the end of the yolk-sac stage may often have a major influence on brood strength but that mortality from fertilization to the O-group stage is the ultimate determinant.The results of modelling and the tests of the patchiness hypothesis which have already been discussed support the idea that first feeding is a critical time, although not having, necessarily, the dominant effect claimed by Hjort. Experimenters and modellers have also derived further concepts for testing. The major sources of mortality are identified as starvation and predation. Starvation, of course, only operates from the end of the yolk-sac stage. Blaxter and Hempel (1963) used the expression "point-of-no-retum" to express the point at which larvae, as a result of starvation, are too weak to feed even if food becomes available. Sometimes called "ecological death" or "irreversible starvation" this is a useful concept for assessing the chances of larval survival under different conditions. For larvae in a good nutritional state the time to the point-of-no-retum may be only 1-2 days in a small newly feeding larva like the anchovy, but Ontogeny, Systematics, and Phylogeny D. M. Cohen THE work of Ahlie and his students and colleagues has brought to the fore great amounts of descriptive information about the early life history (ELH) stages of fishes gathered over many years. These data are of broad provenance, many being the results of original research by the Ahlstrom school, others being taken from the literature. Only a scientist with Ahlie's capabilities-an extensive knowledge of fishes and their ontogeny, a fine sense of order in nature, and a critical intellect-could perceive pattern in the bewildering diversity represented by the early life history stages of fishes. As would any good scientist, Ahlie questioned the meaning of these patterns, and it is chiefly to further this inquiry that this symposium was convened.Most students of comparative fish ontogeny know more about adult fishes than ichthyologists who study adults know about larval fishes; they have to. Ahlie stated in his lectures. "Larval taxonomy is just an adjunct to adult taxonomy and you have to start with the adults to know the larvae." Early on he discovered that data from early life history studies did not always confirm classifications based on adults alone. We all want to know which data sets most closely approximate phylogenetic relationships; how apparent conflicts best can be resolved; how the data of ontogeny can be integrated into the overall field of fish systematics? Answering these questions is not easy, especially within the framework dictated by the widespread adoption of new meth...

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“…Hatching occurs in 3-20 days depending on water temperature (Hoover 1936;McKenzie 1964;Leim and Scott 1966;Edsall 1970;Cooper 1978). Larvae that hatch from the eggs have large yolksacs and a limited swimming ability (Cooper 1978;Chambers et al 1976). Such larvae upon hatching are carried into the currents and swept downstream to slower moving water where they grow and develop into juveniles.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Observations on the diel and seasonal drift of eggs and larvae of anadromous Rainbow Smelt, Osmerus mordax, and Blueback Herring, Alsoa aestivalis, in a coastal stream on Prince Edward Island

Johnson,

Cheverie

1988

The Canadian Field-Naturalist

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A diel and seasonal periodicity in drift from the West River (mean annual flow 0.022 m3.sec '-km2) was evident for eggs and larvae of anadromous Rainbow Smelt and Blueback Herring. Spawning of smelt and blueback occurred usually between dusk and | am. Drift of all egg stages and larvae increased at night between 10 pm and 4 am witha peak usually between 12 pm and 2 am. When mean daily water temperatures were below 13°C drift densities of egg and larvae of both species were always greater at night than during the day. However, when mean daily water temperatures were above I5°C, the abundance of larval Blueback Herring in the drift increased in the daytime and decreased at night. Forty-one percent and 26% of the egg drift consisted of dead smelt and blueback eggs respectively. Eggs in different stages of development and prolarvae were carried passively to the estuary where they entered salinities of 18-22 °/ 00. Survival of the larvae and eggs suggest that both species are very tolerant to high salinities at an early stage of development. The importance of estuaries as nursery areas for these species is discussed.

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Methods of Distinguishing Larval Alewife from Larval Blueback Herring

Cited by 5 publications

References 11 publications

Early Life History of Blueback Herring and Alewife in the Lower Roanoke River, North Carolina

Early Life History of Blueback Herring and Alewife in the Lower Roanoke River, North Carolina

Ontogeny and systematics of fishes : based on an international symposium dedicated to the memory of Elbert Halvor Ahlstrom

Observations on the diel and seasonal drift of eggs and larvae of anadromous Rainbow Smelt, Osmerus mordax, and Blueback Herring, Alsoa aestivalis, in a coastal stream on Prince Edward Island

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