TIMING OF SPAWNING IN LARGEMOUTH BASS - IMPLICATIONS OF AN INDIVIDUAL-BASED MODEL
Authored by AS Trebitz
Date Published: 1991
DOI: 10.1016/0304-3800(91)90178-4
Sponsors:
United States Department of Energy (DOE)
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
Martin Marietta Systems Inc
Platforms:
No platforms listed
Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
Flow charts
Mathematical description
Model Code URLs:
Model code not found
Abstract
Timing of reproduction can help adjust the lifecycle of a species to
coincide with biotic and abiotic conditions favorable for the growth and
survival of its young. In fishes, factors related to the selection of
spawning time include temperature regime, abundance and distribution of
prey, and density-dependent feedbacks between population size, growth, survival, and reproduction. An individual-based model for young-of-year
largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is presented. The model is then
used to explore how these factors interact to determine optimal spawning
time, defined here as that spawning time for which the total biomass of
a cohort of bass at one year of age is maximized. When food intake per
individual was assumed to be independent of population size, a broad
peak in total cohort biomass occurred at intermediate spawning
temperatures. With the addition of density dependence in food intake, a
nearly constant total biomass was attained across a range of prescribed
spawning temperatures. When largemouth bass spawned at different times
within a year competed for a common food resource, those spawned
earliest tended to produce the greatest total biomass. Fish representing
a variety of spawning strategies were able to coexist over 15 simulated
generations, however, because the number of offspring produced by any
one strategy was limiting by the availability of prey of suitable size.
Simulation results argue that recruitment success should not be assessed
until well after young begin feeding, as density-dependent factors will
determine the relative success of cohorts that survive adverse
environmental conditions.
Tags
growth
Prey selection
Planktivorous fish
Reproductive
success
Smallmouth bass
Body size
Micropterus-salmoides
Lepomis-macrochirus
1st-year survival
Apparent size