Early growth, mortality, and partial migration of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) larvae and juveniles in the St. Lawrence estuary, Canada

Abstract

Abstract After being extirpated from the St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE), striped bass (Morone saxatilis) were reintroduced in 2002, and by 2008 they were naturally reproducing. The increase of this reintroduced population prompted the need to document its nursery habitats utilization, which contribute to species recruitment. We analysed mortality-dispersion rates and the growth of larvae and juveniles in relation to their occurrence and migration patterns. From June to September 2014, we collected striped bass distributed in four estuarine habitats: the upstream freshwater section (UP), the oligohaline (O-ETM) and the mesohaline (M-ETM) estuarine turbidity maximum zone, and the downstream polyhaline section (DOWN). Based on otolith microstructure and microchemistry, 305 back-calculated growth and 36 migration trajectories have been reconstructed. The UP and the O-ETM provided optimal conditions wherein which larvae and juveniles exhibited fastest growth. In the SLE, we emphasized the co-existence of a freshwater resident contingent and two migrant contingents to the M-ETM and DOWN. We propose that migrants adopt an adaptive migration behaviour to avoid suboptimal conditions and strong intraspecific competition from resident in the upstream habitats. The potential advantage of a downstream migration later in the season might be an adaptative strategy to promote their survival during the early life stages.