Winter mortality of young-of-the-year Hudson River striped bass (Morone saxatilis): size-dependent patterns and effects on recruitment

Abstract

Winter mortality plays a significant role in the dynamics of some temperate fish populations and has been shown to be size-dependent for some species, but not for others. Our objective was to determine how winter mortality affects the recruitment dynamics of Hudson River striped bass (Morone saxatilis). We used catch-per-unit-effort data from three separate surveys targeting young-of-the-year (YOY), overwintering, and age 1 striped bass. Age 1 abundance was negatively correlated with the severity of winter. In contrast, the abundance of age 0 fish was not correlated with age 1 abundance, suggesting that winter mortality greatly modifies year-class strength. A progressive increase in the mean length of YOY fish, coupled with a decrease in the coefficient of variation in length, occurred during some winters. Laboratory experiments showed that growth in length requires temperatures in excess of 10°C; hence, these changes likely result from selective mortality of smaller fish. Direct evidence of size-dependent mortality was obtained from a laboratory experiment that exposed fish to ambient conditions throughout the winter. Accounting for interannual differences in the severity and size dependency of winter mortality may improve our ability to evaluate striped bass year-class strength in the Hudson River.