Egg Weight, Fecundity, and Gonad Weight Variability among Northwest Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus) Populations

Egg weight varies among northwest Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) populations that spawn in different seasons (n = 12), but the range in weights is less than half of that known for northeast Atlantic populations. Egg weights were similar for both spring (May–June)- and autumn (August–October)-spawning herring (1.06 ×) and most dissimilar between spring- and summer (July)-spawning herring (1.21 ×). Mean population egg weights were not correlated with temperature either at spawning or for the last 2 mo of the egg development period. The product of egg weight and fecundity (standardized to length) differed between spring- and autumn-spawning herring of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Spring-spawners, particularly smaller fish [Formula: see text], have lower ripe ovary weights than do autumn-spawning herring. Differences between spawning seasons in the relative allocation of storage energy to gonad and metabolism, a process mediated by the duration of the gonad maturation period, are the likely basis for the observed patterns.

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Role of spawning condition in the determination of the reproductive traits of spring- and autumn-spawning Atlantic herring from the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z93-043 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 71 (2) ◽

pp. 309-317 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Rodney G. Bradford

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Lipid Content ◽

Reproductive Traits ◽

Gonad Maturation ◽

Maturation Period ◽

Egg Weight ◽

Storage Lipids ◽

Length Relationship ◽

Group Spawning ◽

Storage Energy

Mature spring-spawning (May–June) and autumn-spawning (August–September) herring differ in total weight. Autumn herring have both heavier gonads and higher somatic weights at length. Both the residual levels of storage lipids and somatic weight at length, corrected for storage lipid, are higher in autumn than in spring. Within spawning seasons, males and females deplete the same amount of storage energy. Percent somatic lipid content is positively correlated with body size during spring but shows no relationship to body size in autumn. These patterns indicate that the relative allocation of storage energy to reproduction differs with spawning season. Spring spawners (lengthy gonad maturation period) allocate proportionally more storage energy to routine and active metabolism than autumn spawners (brief gonad maturation period). The low intercept and steep slope of the gonad weight – length relationship for spring spawners reflect the interaction between decreasing metabolic rate with body size and increasing storage energy capacity with body size. Egg weight is unrelated to the parent's somatic lipid content for either spawning group. Spawning history (recruit versus repeat spawning) has only a minor influence on egg weight.

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Unique biological characteristics of spring-spawning herring (Clupea harengus L.) in Minas Basin, Nova Scotia, a tidally dynamic environment

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z92-096 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 70 (4) ◽

pp. 641-648 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Rodney G. Bradford ◽

T. Derrick Iles

Keyword(s):

Nova Scotia ◽

Dynamic Environment ◽

Tidal Energy ◽

Clupea Harengus ◽

Gonad Maturation ◽

Atlantic Herring ◽

High Fecundity ◽

Adult Growth ◽

Unusual Occurrence ◽

Gonad Production

The unusual occurrence of a spring-spawning (May–June) Atlantic herring population in a tidally dynamic environment (Minas Basin, Nova Scotia) is investigated. Adult growth and reproductive characters are similar to those of a geographically adjacent population that also spawns in a tidally energetic environment but during autumn (August–October), rather than to those of another May- to June-spawning population that reproduces in an environment with low tidal energy. Minas Basin herring are shown to feed intensively during gonad maturation up to and including spawning. This has not been previously documented for Atlantic herring. Condition factor analysis shows that somatic tissues lose weight during gonad maturation in spite of the feeding behaviour. It is concluded that the high fecundity of Minas Basin herring is accomplished by increased gonad production. This suggests that high fecundity is prerequisite to life-cycle closure in highly dispersive environments. Analysis of parasitic larval nematode infection suggests Minas Basin herring are distributed with other herring populations from the Bay of Fundy region that aggregate along the southwestern edge of the Scotian shelf during summer to feed.

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Consecutive acoustic observations of an Atlantic herring school in the Northwest Atlantic

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsp090 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 66 (6) ◽

pp. 1270-1277 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Thomas C. Weber ◽

Héctor Peña ◽

J. Michael Jech

Keyword(s):

Angular Dependence ◽

Clupea Harengus ◽

Atlantic Herring ◽

Georges Bank ◽

Northwest Atlantic ◽

Multibeam Echosounder ◽

Fish School ◽

Catch Data ◽

Trawl Catch ◽

Synoptic Observations

Abstract Weber, T. C., Peña, H., and Jech, J. M. 2009. Consecutive acoustic observations of an Atlantic herring school in the Northwest Atlantic. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1270–1277. Several successive images of the same school of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) were collected over the course of ∼1 h just north of Georges Bank in the Northwest Atlantic. Although the fish may not have been in their natural, undisturbed state, we observed what appeared to be the fish school fragmenting and dispersing, using a split-beam and a multibeam echosounder. Calibrated, 38 kHz, split-beam echosounder (Simrad EK60) and trawl-catch data provided accurate measures of the fish density beneath the vessel. Uncalibrated, 400 kHz, multibeam-echosounder (Reson 7125) data provided synoptic observations of the fish school including estimates of the school volume, morphology, and behaviour. Observations of the angular dependence in the multibeam-echosounder measurements of backscatter from fish allow investigation of the efficacy of extrapolating fish-school densities measured by the split-beam echosounder to the entire school.

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Length-specific Weight as a Measure of Growth Success of Adult Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus)

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f94-116 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 51 (5) ◽

pp. 1169-1179 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

G. H. Winters ◽

J. P. Wheeler

Keyword(s):

Specific Weight ◽

Clupea Harengus ◽

Annual Production ◽

Atlantic Herring ◽

Reliable Index ◽

Northwest Atlantic ◽

Surplus Energy ◽

Weak Evidence ◽

Annual Changes ◽

Dependent Growth

We used length-specific weight (i.e., condition) to evaluate growth success of seven stocks of adult Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) in the Northwest Atlantic. Condition of adult Atlantic herring showed large annual changes as a consequence of abundance-dependent effects. This contradicts the general conclusion that adult herring growth contains little abundance-dependent variation. The published literature, however, is based mainly on traditional growth estimators such as annual length increments which measure only a marginal fraction of annual production whereas condition reflects the seasonal accumulation and depletion of energy and therefore can provide a reliable index of total annual production. We found that annual changes in condition of adult Atlantic herring were only weakly correlated with traditional length-based growth estimates. We concluded that the weak evidence for abundance-dependent growth of adult herring in the literature is a consequence of inappropriate growth estimators. The implication of this finding is that the acquisition of surplus energy by herring can be abundance dependent whereas annual increases in length may not.

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Relationship between Food, Fat, Sexual Maturation, and Spawning Time of Baltic Herring (Clupea harengus membras) in the Archipelago Sea

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f92-073 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 49 (4) ◽

pp. 644-654 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Marjut Rajasilta

Keyword(s):

Nutritional Status ◽

Gonadosomatic Index ◽

Fat Content ◽

Clupea Harengus ◽

Gonad Maturation ◽

Gonad Weight ◽

Baltic Herring ◽

Archipelago Sea ◽

The Baltic ◽

Timing Of Spawning

The effect of nutritional status on gonad maturation and timing of spawning was examined in the Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras) in the Archipelago Sea. Fish were collected from overwintering areas in December and from the spawning grounds in May–July. Muscle fat content, amount of mesenteric fat, and condition factor were used as indicators of nutritional status of fish. In winter, fish were highly variable with substantial individual variation in nutritional status, gonad stage, gonad weight, and gonadosomatic index (GSI). Gonad weight was related to fat content, suggesting a close relationship with fish nutritional status and maturation rate. Spawning fish were separable into early and late spawners according to fat content, gonad weight, and GSI but not according to length. The spawning shoals consisted of mixtures of fish of all sizes. I concluded that in the study area, individual maturation cycles vary and timing of spawning is primarily determined by the feeding conditions prior to spawning.

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Egg Weight in Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus L.)

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/31.2.170 ◽

1967 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 170-195 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

G. Hempel ◽

J. H. S. Blaxter

Keyword(s):

Clupea Harengus ◽

Atlantic Herring ◽

Egg Weight

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Differential utilization of storage lipids and storage proteins by Northwest Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus)

Journal of Fish Biology ◽

10.1111/j.1095-8649.1993.tb01157.x ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 43 (6) ◽

pp. 811-824 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

R. G. Bradford

Keyword(s):

Storage Proteins ◽

Clupea Harengus ◽

Atlantic Herring ◽

Northwest Atlantic ◽

Storage Lipids ◽

Clupea Harengus Harengus ◽

And Storage

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Adult body growth and reproductive investment vary markedly within and across Atlantic and Pacific herring: a meta-analysis and review of 26 stocks

Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries ◽

10.1007/s11160-021-09665-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Thassya C. dos Santos Schmidt ◽

Doug E. Hay ◽

Svein Sundby ◽

Jennifer A. Devine ◽

Guðmundur J. Óskarsson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Egg Size ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Reproductive Investment ◽

Body Growth ◽

Clupea Harengus ◽

Pacific Herring ◽

Atlantic Herring ◽

Additional Information ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Investment In Reproduction

AbstractLife-history traits of Pacific (Clupea pallasii) and Atlantic (Clupea harengus) herring, comprising both local and oceanic stocks subdivided into summer-autumn and spring spawners, were extensively reviewed. The main parameters investigated were body growth, condition, and reproductive investment. Body size of Pacific herring increased with increasing latitude. This pattern was inconsistent for Atlantic herring. Pacific and local Norwegian herring showed comparable body conditions, whereas oceanic Atlantic herring generally appeared stouter. Among Atlantic herring, summer and autumn spawners produced many small eggs compared to spring spawners, which had fewer but larger eggs—findings agreeing with statements given several decades ago. The 26 herring stocks we analysed, when combined across distant waters, showed clear evidence of a trade-off between fecundity and egg size. The size-specific individual variation, often ignored, was substantial. Additional information on biometrics clarified that oceanic stocks were generally larger and had longer life spans than local herring stocks, probably related to their longer feeding migrations. Body condition was only weakly, positively related to assumingly in situ annual temperatures (0–30 m depth). Contrarily, body growth (cm × y−1), taken as an integrator of ambient environmental conditions, closely reflected the extent of investment in reproduction. Overall, Pacific and local Norwegian herring tended to cluster based on morphometric and reproductive features, whereas oceanic Atlantic herring clustered separately. Our work underlines that herring stocks are uniquely adapted to their habitats in terms of trade-offs between fecundity and egg size whereas reproductive investment mimics the productivity of the water in question.

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