A von Bertalanffy Growth Model with a Seasonally Varying Coefficient

Abstract

The von Bertalanffy model of body growth is inappropriate for organisms whose growth is restricted to a seasonal period because it assumes that growth rate is invariant with time. Incorporation of a time-varying coefficient significantly improves the capability of the von Bertalanffy equation to describe changing body size of both the bivalve mollusc Macoma balthica in San Francisco Bay and the flathead sole, Hippoglossoides elassodon, in Washington state. This simple modification of the von Bertalanffy model should offer improved predictions of body growth for a variety of other aquatic animals. Key words: Bertalanffy, growth model, growth rate, Macoma balthica