MORPHOMETRIC STUDY OF THE STRIPED BASS, 

 ROCCUS SAXATILIS 



The striped bass, Roccus saxatilis 

 (Walbaum), is of great importance to both com- 

 mercial and sport fishermen. Many workers 

 have contributed to the knowledge of the basic 

 biology of this species, and these various con- 

 tributions are summarized by Raney (1952). 

 Because of the great economic value of the strip- 

 ed bass, racial studies have been undertaken in 

 the form of tagging experiments and investiga- 

 tions of meristic characters. The purpose of 

 this present study was to determine whether 

 morphometric data would help to verify past 

 studies or would contribute new knowledge for 

 a better understanding of the racial makeup of 

 the striped bass along the Atlantic coast. 



Ichthyologists and fishery biologists have 

 widely used morphometric data in studying races 

 of fish. The advantages of using some form of 

 a regression analysis when comparing such data, 

 and the disadvantages of using other techniques, 

 have been pointed out by Marr (1955). Mottley 

 (1941) introduced the use of a covariance pro- 

 cedure in comparing two populations of fish on 

 the basis of morphometric data. Martin (1949) 

 recognized the fact that the regressions may 

 differ in one or two ways: the slopes may diffei; 

 and the intercepts may differ . Therefore, both 

 components should be tested before one can 

 state that the populations are homogeneous . 

 Such a procedure was followed in this study. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



The author is indebted to the following 

 faculty members of Oornell University: Dr . Ed- 

 ward C. Raney, for counsel and advice during 

 the entire study; Dr. Douglas S. Robson and 

 Dr. Robert G. D. Steel, for advice in the data 

 analysis; Dr. Clifford O. Berg for reviewing 

 the manuscript; Richard C. Lesser, Director of 

 the Cornell Computing Center, for allowing the 

 author use of the facilities. The author was re- 

 cipient of a Sport Fishing Institute Fellowship 

 in 1955-56. 



MATERIALS 



The specimens measured in this 

 study are listed below under their respective 

 river systems. The designations CU and RM 

 stand for Cornell University and for Rathjen and 

 Miller. The collections were made by Warren 

 S. Rathjen and Lewis C. Miller on the Hudson 

 River during 1954. The river mileage is given 

 for some collections. The first letter of the 

 river is used as an abbreviation; thus R-40 rep- 

 resents 40 miles from the mouth of the Rappa- 

 hannock River. In the York River System all 

 distances are measured from the mouth of the 

 York River. Therefore, P-40 (Pamunkey River) 

 and M-39 (Mattaponi River) are distances from 

 the mouth of the York. The same is true in the 

 James River System where C-55 (Chickahominy 

 River) denotes 55 miles from the mouth of the 

 James. 



Each collection is designated as follows: 

 the catalogue numbers listed in numerical order; 

 in parenthesis, the number of fish examined in 

 that sample; the locality within the system; the 

 date of collection. 



Hudson River --CU 15463 (33), Haverstraw and 

 Stony Cove, August 5, 1949. CU 18221 (20), 

 Stony Point Cove, Stony Point, New York, Aug. 

 26, 1949. CU 21070 (35), between Catskill and 

 Piermont, Sept. 4-9, 1950. CU 24037 (10), 

 Denning Point just south of Beacon, Sept. 11, 1953. 

 CU 24043 (70), Haverstraw Beach, Sept. 11, 1953. 

 CU 26370 (17), Coxsackie Beach, July 12, 1954. 

 CU 26281 (48), Coxsackie Beach, June 23, 1954. 

 CU 26380 (16), Coxsackie Beach, July 13, 1954. 

 CU 27108 (44), Grassy Point, Aug. 4, 1954. 

 CU 27128 (50), Coxsackie, Aug. 4, 1954. CU 

 29996 (41), two miles south of Sing Sing Prison, 

 May 2, 1956. RM 89 and 91 (21), North of Mid- 

 dleground Island, July 8, 1954. RM 105 (15), 

 Coxsackie Beach, Aug. 19, 1954. RM 116 (23), 

 Coxsackie Beach, July 26, 1954. RM 150 (9), 

 Coxsackie Beach, Aug. 4, 1954. RM 162 (23), 

 Alsen, Silver Point, Aug. 31, 1954. RM 163 (28) 

 Newburg, Aug. 31, 1954. RM 174(23), Harmon, 



