Effects of abundance and water temperature on recruitment and growth of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) near South Bay, Lake Huron, 1954-82

Analysis of catches in pound nets provided indices of population size (ages 2–6) and of recruitment (ages 4–6) for alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) spawning in South Bay (1954–82). Four hypotheses concerning the effects of stock size and water temperature on growth and recruitment were tested statistically. The number of recruits per spawner was not a function of parental stock size, but was dependent on surface-water temperatures in June and July. Although the size of both males and females at age 3 yr was positively related to surface-water temperatures in the three preceding summers, growth rates were only a function of water temperatures during the second year of growth (age 1). However, growth rates during the first, second, and third years of growth were all related to year-class strength. Thus, population abundance, through recruitment, was determined by an abiotic factor (water temperature), but growth was mostly affected by intraspecific competition for, presumably, food.