TABLE 2. — Body proportions used in the study for separating groups of silver hake 



[+ data analyzed; - insufficient data] 



Variables 



T-test 



Independent : 

 Fork length 



Dependent : 

 Head length 

 Snout length 

 Snout to anal opening 

 Snout to insertion of pelvic fin 

 Snout to insertion of pectoral fin 

 Fin, first dorsal, length 

 Fin, first dorsal, height 

 Fin, second dorsal, length 

 Fin, second dorsal, height 

 Fin, third dorsal, length 

 Fin, third dorsal, height 

 Fin, pectoral, length 

 Fin, pelvic, length 

 Fin, first ventral, length 

 Fin, first ventral, height 

 Fin, second ventral, length 

 Fin, second ventral, height 

 Eye diameter 



+ 

 + 

 + 

 + 

 + 

 + 

 + 

 + 

 + 



Head Length 



Covariance analysis between inshore 

 and offshore samples collected in the 

 Gulf of Maine was not significant (table 

 4). Assuming that the Gulf of Maine 

 consists of only one group, these data 

 were compared with samples taken 

 from Nantucket Shoals (west) and the 

 resulting "F" value was significant. 

 The Gulf of Maine data were compared 

 with the samples taken from Rhode 

 Island, New York, and New Jersey, and 

 the results of the covariance analysis 

 were highly significant. However, no 

 significant difference was found be- 

 tween the samples collected from Rhode 

 Island and those takenfromNew Jersey, 

 nor between the Nantucket Shoals and 

 New York samples. The plotted regres- 

 sion lines of the samples collected from 

 the Gulf of Maine, Rhode Island, and 

 New York-New Jersey are shown in 

 figure 2. 



The results of the T-test for the 

 distance between regression lines for 

 the Gulf of Maine and the Rhode Is land - 

 New Jersey samples were found to be 

 highly significant, as shown In table 5. 

 However, a comparison between two 

 closely associated areas, Rhode Island 

 and New Jersey, was not significant. 

 These results indicate that the silver 

 hake in the Gulf of Maine are signifi- 

 cantly different with regard to head 

 length from the silver hake found along 

 the southern New England, New York, 

 and New Jersey coasts and that this 

 parameter can be used to separate these 

 two groups. 



Length of Pelvic Fin 



The plotted regression lines for 



length of the pelvic fin against total 



length are presented in figure 2. The 



Rhode Island and New Jersey samples 



