Ross: Relative value of different estuarine nursery areas for |uvenile marine fisfies in Nortfi Carolina 



393 



curvilinear form (Table 3, Fig. 7). In the Pamlico system dif- 

 ferences between areas were not large; however, middle area 

 spot had significantly (P<0.05) lower weights per length, es- 

 pecially in larger individuals (Fig. 7). In the Cape Fear sys- 

 tem, spot in the upper area had significantly (P<0.05) larger 

 weights per length than those from the other two areas. 



Mortality Spot mortality rates were based on individuals 

 aged >85 days. All regression slopes describing the declin- 

 ing numbers of spot with increasing ages were significantly 

 different from zero (P<0.0001). Instantaneous mortality 

 rates over this time period ranged from 0.037 to 0.066 

 (Fig. 8). Analysis of covariance indicated that within each 



