Larva 2000

Fuiman, Lee A., University of Texas at Austin, Port Aransas, USA.

Ontogeny and Growth: Separate Processes that Determine Performance Capabilities in Fish Larvae

Virtually all measures of performance in fish larvae change during development as a result of the combined effects of ontogeny and growth. Ontogeny and growth are so closely tied that total length is one of the best measures of ontogenetic state in fishes. But, are they separate processes? It is possible to partition the effects of ontogeny and growth on a performance measure by applying the principles of scaling. In doing so, systematic deviations from the appropriate scaling relationship can be ascribed to ontogeny. This allows a better understanding of bases for developmental changes in performance. Despite the generally very close relationship between ontogeny and growth, results from laboratory experiments demonstrate that environmental conditions (temperature, contaminants) can decouple ontogeny and growth to some degree. The consequences of this decoupling for performance remain unmeasured.

Created: Fri Feb 23 15:07:44 CST 2001