WILKENS and LEWIS: YOUNG ATLANTIC MENHADEN 



salinity-freshwater zone, which was influenced 

 by the tide, affected the distribution of larvae 

 and prejuveniles. 



SUMMARY 



Larval menhaden were present in the White 

 Oak River estuary from November to May but 

 were most abundant in February and March. 

 Prejuveniles were abundant in late March and 

 April, and by the beginning of May most had 

 transformed into juveniles. Our largest catches 

 of juveniles occurred in May. 



Larvae progress upstream to the zone where 

 the salt and fresh water mix (0-1 ;„ salinity). 

 Large catches of prejuvenile and larval men- 

 haden occurred within this zone. We did not 

 find juvenile menhaden in the zone until the end 

 of May when most prejuveniles had transformed 

 to juveniles. 



Laboratory tests from other studies showed 

 that menhaden died when the water temperature 

 fell below 4° C and rose above 33° C. Even 

 though young menhaden encountered both ex- 

 tremes of water temperature in the White Oak 

 River, we saw no evidence of any deaths. 



Catches of larval menhaden at the Swansboro 

 bridge were more abundant on flood tide than 

 ebb. The early hours of ebb tide had higher 

 larval indexes than late ebb. 



Illumination affected the catches of juvenile 

 menhaden at our upstream stations as we caught 

 more menhaden on overcast or moonless nights 

 than on clear, moonlight nights or during the 

 daylight hours. 



LITERATURE CITED 



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