CONTENTS 



Page 



Introduction 1 



Materials and nnethods ^ 



Results 2 



Variation of vertebral counts with fish length 2 



Variation between sexes 2 



Variation of a year class with age 2 



Variation between year classes 6 



Connparison of spawners and nonspawners within and between localities 7 



Comparison of juveniles and spawners of the sanne year class 7 



Discussion 8 



Summary 11 



Acknowledgments • 11 



Literature cited 1 1 



FIGURES 



1. Map of the Atlantic coast of the United States showing locations mentioned in the text . 



2. Monthly range and mean temperatures at three lightship stations along the Atlantic 



coast of the United States, 1957-59 



3 



10 



TABLES 



1. Fork lengths, ages, and vertebral counts of Atlantic menhaden in samples from three 



localities along the Atlantic coast of the United States, 1957-60 (number offish in 

 parentheses) 



2. Comparison of mean vertebral counts of Atlantic menhaden of the 1955 and 1956 year 



classes at successive ages 



3. Comparison of mean vertebral counts of Atlantic menhaden of the 1955-57 year classes 



4. Comparison of mean vertebral counts of juvenile Atlantic menhaden (age 0) from 



estuarine nurseries north and south of Long Island, N.Y., with spring and autumn 

 spawners (older ages combined), respectively, of the same year class 



5. Vertebral counts and fork lengths of juvenile Atlantic menhaden in samples from Long 



Island, N.Y., estuarine nurseries, 1956-57 



