The striped bass is a well-studied species and there is a voluminous literature 

 relating to its biology (30). Relatively little attention, however, has been paid 

 to the ecology of early Ufe stages, the period during the life of the animal 

 which is most important in the determination of year-class strength. Mansueti 

 (22) presented descriptions of the eggs and larvae from collections from the 

 Roanoke and Patuxent Rivers, and provided observations on the feeding and 

 early growth of larvae in captivity. Doroshev (8) reviewed aspects of egg and 

 larval development and added anecdotal observations on metaboUc rate and 

 graying rates of larvae. Bayless (2) provided a manual of culture methods as 

 practiced in South Carolina hatcheries, but did not give many details of larval 

 requirements beyond the yolk sac stage. Short term lethal temperature levels 

 for eggs and larvae were presented by Albrecht (1), Davies (7), Shannon and 

 Smith (32), Shannon (31), and Morgan and Rasin (28). Observations of prey 

 selectivity among late larvae were reported by Meshaw (27) and Gomez (10). 

 Daniel (6) presented data on the effect of food density on larval survival. 



In many spawning rivers on the Atlantic coast, major conflicts have arisen 

 over the effect of power plant operations on striped bass recruitment, as a 

 result of the entrainment of eggs and larvae in cooling water intakes, and later 

 the impingement of juveniles on intake screens. Entrainment losses are highest 

 among striped bass under approximately 3 cm in length. The duration of the 

 period of major entrainment losses is a direct function of the time required for 

 young bass to develop from semiplanktonic eggs to early juveniles large enough 

 to escape intake currents. An assessment of plant impact must take into 

 account the duration of entrainable life stages. To date, only crude estimates 

 have been used in plant impact models involving striped bass (e.g., 21, 36). 



The purpose of the present study was to determine in what way 

 temperature and an initial delay in the onset of active feeding work together to 

 affect the rate of survival and growth of striped bass larvae. Temperature is a 

 controlling factor which may be expected to have a profound effect on the 

 metabolic demands of the developing larva. The availability of food determines 

 the extent to which these demands can be met. Temperature and delayed first 

 feeding may be expected to interact in a manner which would largely 

 determine the life span and early growth trajectory of the developing larva. By 

 observing how water temperature and feeding level affect growth, better 

 predictions of stage duration, hence vulnerability to power plant entrainment, 

 may be made. 



MATERIALS AND METHODS 



Source of Study Material 



Eggs from Maryland used in the 1976 experimental series were netted from 

 the Nanticoke River during the spawning season, using a 1 x 2 meter, 947 



237 



