54 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



heavily on this species during this year. However, juvenile menhaden were not as 

 abundant in 1937 in this area, yet the growth rate of striped bass in September and 

 October continued much as it had throughout the summer in spite of the drop in 

 temperature (see fig. 18). It therefore appears that the increased food supply of 

 striped bass resulting from the availability of juvenile Menidia after the middle of 

 August may be correlated with the maintenance or increase of the growth rate in the 

 early fall when the water temperature falls rapidly, and when the normal expectation 



LENGTH FREQUENCIES BY BI-WEEKLY INTERVALS 



25-1 



JULY 17, 1937 



GROWTH OF JUVENILE 

 MENIDIA MENIDIA NOTATA, 



JULY-SEPTEMBER, 1937 

 NIANTIC RIVER, CONN 



GROWTH RATE OF 

 JUVENILE MENIDIA MENIDIA NOTATA 



S"- 



15 SO £5 50 



STANDARO LENGTHS IN MMS 



Figure 36.— The growth of Menidia menidia notata, from July to September 1937, in the Niantic River, Conn. The length-fre- 

 quencies have been smoothed by a moving average of threes throughout (see Table 23 for original data). 



would be that the growth rate would slow down. Other possible explanations of this 

 apparently faster growth rate of striped bass in the late summer and early fall, such 

 as faidty sampling and "compensatory growth," have been discussed in the section 

 on the age and rate of growth of striped bass. 



The following comprise all the forms of food found in the stomachs of the 550 

 striped bass examined in 1936 and 1937: 



Common types: 



Shiners, or silversides (Menidia menidia 



notata) . 

 Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus). 

 Shrimp, or prawns (Palaemonetes vulgaris). 

 Mummichogs, or kUlifish (Fundulus hetero- 



clitus and majalis). 



Uncommon types: 



Sand Launces (Ammodytes americanus) . 

 Herring (Clupea harengus). 

 Squid (Loligo pealei). 

 Sandworms (Nereis virens). 15 

 Bloodworms (Glyccra dibranchiata). a 



Rare types: 



Flounders (Pseudopleuronect.es americanus). 



Eels (Anguilla rostrata). 



Tomcod (Microgadus tomcod) — one 20 cm. 



specimen in a 40-cm. striped bass. 

 Clams (Mya arenaria) — of small size. 

 Crabs (Callinectcs sapidus and Ovalipes 



ocellatus) — of small size. 

 Snails (Litlorina, sp. ?). 

 Mussels (Mytilus edulis). 

 White perch (Morone americana). 

 Mullet (Mugil cephalus). 

 Shiners (Notropis hudsonius amarus). 

 Blennies (Pholis gunellus). 

 Amphipods. 

 Isopods. 



>« These 2 marine annelids are generally used for bait, thus pieces of them are often found In bass that were caught on rod and line. 

 However, whole individuals also have been observed in the stomachs of striped bass. 



