42 
Fishery Bulletin 110(1) 
Table 2 
Regressions of length- and weight-specific fecundity 
(dependent variables) and maternal factors (independent 
variables; age, length, weight) for gravid quillback rock- 
fish ( Sebastes maliger ). The number of samples for all 
analyses was 28. 
Dependent 
Independent 
t-ratio 
P 
eggs/g 
age 
1.52 
0.14 
length 
1.38 
0.18 
weight 
0.90 
0.38 
er, younger females may require more time to build 
energy reserves after winter and therefore delay fer- 
tilization, and in turn parturition (Larson, 1991). This 
scenario is possible because many Sebastes species can 
store sperm for weeks or months (Love et al., 2002). 
A delay may not be favorable if it results in a nar- 
rowed summer growth season, especially at northern 
latitudes with shorter summers. It is also possible that 
developmental time is shorter for older, larger females. 
To test these hypotheses, several measurements of 
embryonic developmental stage would be required from 
each gravid female through development and ideally 
measurements of maternal energy density or another 
metric of energy reserves. In gravid quillback rockfish 
