Analytical models for the statistical distribution of the gut content of fish larvae in a turbulent ocean environment are compared to data obtained in a field experiment. The proposed model allows the nutrition state and thereby the survival probability of plankton populations to be estimated for given conditions and parameters characterizing their environment, i.e., prey concentrations and turbulence levels. These parameters...

A larval survey is used in the annual assessment as an index of the spawning stock size of Norwegian spring spawning herring ( Clupea harengus ). To test how inter‐annual fluctuations in circulation pattern, survey design and execution of the survey affected the larval abundance estimate we conducted simulated surveys using a model framework with idealized assumptions to model larval drift and sampled larvae using several real...

Spawning of fishes takes place across a wide area of the North Sea. However, more intense spawning is seen in restricted areas, indicating that such areas present favorable conditions. To update information on fish spawning in the North Sea and analyze potential linkages to hydrographic characteristics, an internationally coordinated survey was conducted in the winter/spring of 2004. Oblique hauls for fish eggs and larvae and...