NOTE Raynie and Shaw: Comparison of larval and postlarval growth rates of Brevoortia patronus 



893 



stages based on developmental history alone has been 

 shown for Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus, and a 

 96% decrease in growth rate has been shown for bay 

 anchovy, Anchoa mitchilli (Houde, 1987). These two 

 clupeiform species have high larval growth rates and 

 relatively long metamorphosis intervals (Houde, 

 1987) as does gulf menhaden. Lewis et al. (1972) also 

 related varying growth in length to growth in weight 

 through larval, prejuvenile, and juvenile stages of 

 Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus. Therefore, 

 physiological and morphological changes occurring 

 between larval and juvenile stages may be more im- 

 portant in the regulation of the shape of growth 

 curves (both length and weight) than variability in 

 exogenous factors. 



Acknowledgments 



This study was submitted as part of a M.S. thesis to 

 the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sci- 

 ences, Louisiana State University, by the senior au- 

 thor. We would like to thank J. W. Day Jr., E. B. 

 Moser, and C. A. Wilson for their help and advise. J. 

 H. Power deserves special thanks for his advise and 

 assistance with the age and growth analysis, as does 

 J. G. Ditty for assistance in the laboratory. Finan- 

 cial support for this project was provided by the Loui- 

 siana Sea Grant College Program, a part of the Na- 

 tional Sea Grant College Program. 



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