ORE Open Research Exeter TITLE Fish reproductive-energy output increases disproportionately with body size AUTHORS Barneche, DR; Robertson, DR; White, CR; et al. JOURNAL Science DEPOSITED IN ORE 05 March 2019 This version available at http://hdl.handle.net/10871/36268 COPYRIGHT AND REUSE Open Research Exeter makes this work available in accordance with publisher policies. A NOTE ON VERSIONS The version presented here may differ from the published version. If citing, you are advised to consult the published version for pagination, volume/issue and date of publication Fish reproductive-energy output increases disproportionately with body size Diego R. Barneche1,§, D. Ross Robertson2, Craig R. White1, Dustin J. Marshall1 1Centre for Geometric Biology / School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton Vic. 3800, Australia 2Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama §School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia Keywords: body size, ectotherms, life-history theory, geometric biology Correspondence to: D.R.B.; Email:
[email protected]; Phone: +61 (2) 9351 2779; Ad- dress: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. Body size determines total reproductive-energy output. Most theories assume repro- ductive output is a fixed proportion of size but formal macroecological tests are lacking. Management based on that assumption risks underestimating the contribution of larger mothers to replenishment, hindering sustainable harvesting. We test this assumption in marine fishes with a phylogenetically controlled meta-analysis of the intra-specific mass scaling of reproductive-energy output. We show that larger mothers reproduce disproportionately more than smaller mothers, not only via fecundity, but also total reproductive-energy.