An energy budget of the Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus)

McGurk, Michael Douglas (1979) An energy budget of the Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus). Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (18MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

The study analyzes the seasonal energy flows within adult Atlantic herring. The seasonal cycles of the condition indices, the lipid and water content and the energy densities of the body and the gonads were measured for a stock complex off the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland. -- The conditions indices and the energy densities were combined in a simulation model to calculate a seasonal energy budget for herring of ages 3-11⁺. The model was validated by comparing the seasonal and annual rations rates, the exponent of the fecundity-length equation and the gross growth efficiencies with values reported in the literature. -- A sensitivity analysis of the model revealed that the model output is most sensitive to variation in the metabolic rate parameters and least sensitive to variations in the data on the conditions indices, the energy densities and the annual growth increments. -- The model was used to examine the consequences of three strategies of energy allocation between the soma and the gonads. There is a tradeoff between the fecundity and the body condition index but the exact form of the relationship is unknown and so the optional strategy cannot be identified.

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