216 
Fishery Bulletin 115(2) 
interpretation. The switch of feeding from a selective 
particulate zooplanktivorous strategy to an omnivo¬ 
rous filter-feeding strategy is likely to drive the lower 
growth rate during this period (Deegan, 1990; Mail- 
let and Checkley, 1990; Chen et ah, 1992; Lozano et 
ah, 2012). Moreover, the decrease in otolith ring width 
suggested that although daily rings were still accrued, 
there was limited growth during this time period. Pre¬ 
viously reported growth rates of 0.11 mm/day (Raynie, 
1991) and 0.12 mm/day (Deegan, 1990) agree with all 
models in our study. Despite this reduction in growth 
rate during transformation to the juvenile stage, larval 
Gulf menhaden may typically undergo another period 
of rapid growth after 30 mm SL, when the larvae have 
acquired fully developed feeding structures and are 
able to filter feed effectively, with growth rates as high 
as 0.48 mm/day (Deegan, 1990). 
Acknowledgments 
We are grateful for funding under award 
NA06OAR4320264 06111039 to the Northern Gulf In¬ 
stitute by the NOAA Office of Ocean and Atmospheric 
Research, NGI project file no. 07-NOAA-07. We also 
thank R. Nero, C. Li, and B. Marx for their help with 
and suggestions for our research. Finally, we thank 
support from T. Farooqi, A. Armas, and W. Delaune. 
This article is dedicated to the memory of C. E. Hicks. 
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