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Contributions to the Early Life Histories of Alewife (Alosa Pseudoharengus) and Blueback Herring (Alosa Aestivalis): Rearing, Identification, Ageing, and Ecology

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Contributions to the Early Life Histories of Alewife (Alosa Pseudoharengus) and Blueback Herring (Alosa Aestivalis): Rearing, Identification, Ageing, and Ecology W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1994 Contributions to the early life histories of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis): Rearing, identification, ageing, and ecology Edward Norbert Sismour College of William and Mary - Virginia Institute of Marine Science Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation Sismour, Edward Norbert, "Contributions to the early life histories of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis): Rearing, identification, ageing, and ecology" (1994). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539616856. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25773/v5-8gz6-yy15 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced withwith permission permission of of the the copyright copyright owner. owner. Further Further reproduction reproduction prohibited prohibited without permission.without permission. Order Number 9429681 Contributions to the early life histories of alewife(Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (A.aestivalis ): Rearing, identification, ageing, and ecology Sismour, Edward Norbert, Ph.D. The College of William and Mary, 1994 UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced withwith permission permission of ofthe the copyright copyright owner. owner. Further Further reproduction reproduction prohibited prohibited without permission.without permission. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARLY LIFE HISTORIES OF ALEWIFE (Alosa pseudoharengus) AND BLUEBACK HERRING (A. aescivalis): REARING, IDENTIFICATION, AGEING, AND ECOLOGY. A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the School of Marine Science of the College of William and Mary in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Edward Norbert Sismour .1994 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Edward Norbert Slsmour 1994 / Joseph EpeSjch, Ph.D. Committee Chair/Advisor Hark Luckenbach, Ph.D /Cynthia Jones, Ph/D. 'Id Dominion University ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. To my wife, Karen, for sharing my triumphs and disappointments and for longstanding encouragement and support. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................................... viii LIST OF T A B L E S ..................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ................................................... xiv APPENDICES ....................................................... XXi ABSTRACT ......................................................... xxii INTRODUCTION ....................................................... 2 CHAPTER 1. Zooplankton Abundances and Growth of Alewife and Blueback Herring Larvae in a Continuous-flow Culture System. ABSTRACT ..................................................... 8 INTRODUCTION ................................................. 9 METHODS ....................................................... 10 Artificial-spawning of e g g s ............................................ 10 Rearing facilities .................................... 11 The recirculating system for rearing embryos and yolk-sac larvae ............................ 11 The continuous-flow system for rearing larvae beyond first-feeding ..................... 12 Rearing embryos ........................................ 13 Specimen collection .................................... 14 Larval herring growth .................................. 14 Environmental variables ................................ 15 Zooplankton collection and laboratory m e t h o d s .......................................... 15 Statistical analysis .................................. 16 RESULTS ....................................................... 16 Rearing alewife and blueback herring l a r v a e .......................................... 16 Growth of alewife and blueback herring l a r v a e .......................................... 17 Environmental Conditions .............................. 18 Zooplankton Availability .............................. 19 Zooplankton in river ............................ 19 Zooplankton in culture tanks ................... 19 Zooplankton abundance without herring l a r v a e .............................. 19 Zooplankton abundance during the culture of a l e w i f e ......................... 19 Zooplankton abundance during the culture of blueback herring .................. 20 DISCUSSION ................................................... 21 Rearing alewife and blueback herring larvae ........... 21 Egg incubation and embryo rearing ............... 21 Rearing larvae beyond first-feeding ............. 22 Growth of cultured alewife and blueback herring l a r v a e .......................................... 25 Zooplankton in the culture tanks ..................... 26 C o n c l u s i o n ............................................ 27 NOTES FOR CHAPTER 1 .......................................... 28 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 2. Characteristics of the Early Life Stages of Cultured Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and Blueback Herring (A. aestivalis) Emphasizing Identification of Larvae. ABSTRACT ................................................ 38 INTRODUCTION ........................................... 39 METHODS .................................................. 41 RESULTS .................................................. 44 Eggs and Yolk-sac L a r v a e ........................ 44 L a r v a e ........................................... 46 Meristics and Morphology ....................... 46 Pigmentation: Preflexion Larvae ................. 47 Ventral margin and g u t ................... 47 Caudal region .............................. 47 Pigmentation: Postflexion Larvae ............... 48 H e a d ................................. 48 Dorsal mid-line and epaxial surface .... 49 Caudal f i n .......................... 50 Internal pigment ......................... 50 Diurnal expression of xanthochrome .... 51 DISCUSSION .............................................. 51 Meristics and morphology .............................. 51 Pigmentation .......................................... 54 Identifying wild larvae based on reared larvae .... 56 Ecological significance of xanthic pigment ........... 58 Pigment as an aid for identifying clupeid larvae . 59 CHAPTER 3. Daily otolith increment deposition and relationships between otolith size, fish size, and true age in cultured blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) and alewife (A. pseudoharengus) larvae. ABSTRACT ..................................................... 80 INTRODUCTION ................................................. 81 METHODS ....................................................... 84 Larval herring culture ................................ 84 Otolith Dissection .................................... 85 Otolith Analysis and Increment Counting ............... 86 Data Analysis .......................................... 86 Comparison of live and preserved standard l e n g t h .................................... 86 Somatic Growth .................................. 87 Otolith size, fish
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