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Fishery Bulletin 93(3). 1995 



May Jul Sep 



Time (months) 



Figure 4 



Predicted mean growth (solid line) and 50% confidence in- 

 tervals (dashed line) of 65-mm blacklip abalone, Haliotis 

 rubra, over one calender year at two sites. 



(Fig. 4). At Broughton Island I, Sydney I, Merrys 

 Beach, and Eden II there was no evidence of any sig- 

 nificant seasonal variation in growth rates (Table 1 ). 



Relation of growth to morphology 



There were differences in the morphology of abalone 

 among sites. For example, the shells of abalone re- 

 captured from Merrys Beach were, on average, wider, 

 heavier, and had a larger ridge than individuals of 

 the same length from Sydney II (Fig. 5). There was a 

 significant difference among sites in the slope of each 

 of the relationships (<-tests, P<0.05), suggesting that 

 the difference in morphology of individuals among 

 sites changed with length. The shell of a 100-mm 

 abalone from Merrys Beach was, on average, approxi- 

 mately 5 mm wider, 8.3 g heavier, and had a 1.7 mm 

 larger ridge than the shell of a 100-mm abalone from 

 Sydney II (Fig. 5). Differences in the width and ridge 

 of shells among the sites increased with length, whereas 

 differences in the weight of shells decreased with length 

 (Fig. 5). The width, weight, and ridge of all shells were 

 each significantly correlated with the other variables 

 (width vs. weight r=0.76; width vs. ridge r=0.58; weight 

 vs. ridge r=0.68; n=390 for all correlations). 



Abalone from sites where their average growth was 

 faster were morphologically different from those 



