hatching and growth was similar in both fed and unfed treatments (Fig. 19). By 18 d after hatch most 

 larvae in the unfed treatment were dead. Buckley (1980) reported 100% mortality at 6 to 9 d after yolk 

 absorption for unfed laboratory-reared winter flounder larvae. From laboratory information it appeared 

 that if no food was available within 8 d following yolk absorption, high mortality would occur. The 

 starvation period may be even shorter due to the "point of no return" reported by Blaxter and Hempel 

 (1963) and discussed by May (1974), as a starved larva will become too weak to feed and survive even if 

 food is provided. 



In the laboratory, the duration of Stage 1 was 10 d, Stage 2 was 32 d. Stage 3 was 14 to 28 d, and 

 Stage 4 was less than 14 d. The estimates of Stage 3 and 4 were ranges because the sampling of larvae 

 occurred at 2-wk intervals due to low abundance. These developmental periods were within the range of 

 estimates for Stage 1, 2, and 3 larvae from the 1983-85 field data (Table 26). The developmental times 

 from the field data were estimated by modal progression (NUSCo 1985) using the number of days between 

 peak abundance of successive developmental stages. However, Hairston and Twombly (1985) demonstrated 

 that changes in mortality rates could bias estimates of developmental time based on modal progression. 

 Until the effects of mortality on the use of modal progression are determined, these estimates of develop- 

 mental time from field data are of questionable validity. 



Table 26. Estimated development time (days) for larval winter flounder Stages 1 to 

 3 based on modal progression for 1983 through 1985 from Niantic River 

 collections. 



Developmental 

 stage 



1983 



1984 



1985 



1 



2 



3 



Total 



11 



32 

 12 

 55 



9 



39 

 23 

 71 



5 



40 

 22 

 67 



81 



