WARLEN and CHESTER: LARVAL SPOT OFF NORTH CAROLINA 



100,000 



>6 mm fish 

 Weight =1.4516 Length 



- n=93, r2«0.986 



10,000 



3 



S2 

 lij 



> 



CO 



a 



1,000 



3.282 



100 



10 



^ 6 mm fish 



Weight= 0.2230 LengtH*-^^'' 



n=32, r2=0.982 



J I I I 



4 6 810 



J I I I 



100 



BODY LENGTH (mm) 



Figure 7— Relationships between dry weight and standard length of spot for length classes <6 mm and >6 

 mm. Fish were from laboratory spawned and reared stocks. 



Yoder et al. 1983). By the time larvae enter the cooler 

 (often <10°C) coastal and estuarine waters, growth 

 rate has slowed considerably (<1.5%/d). The asymp- 

 tote of 22.2 mm SL (Fig. 6, 1979-80 data) estimated 

 by our growth model corresponds closely to the size 



of juvenile spot collected early in their estuarine 

 residency (Weinstein and Walters 1981). Increase in 

 length of newly immigrated spot is relatively slow 

 (=0.5%/d from December to March, estimated from 

 figure 3 of Weinstein and Walters 1981), and it is 



597 



