Another Consideration of the Morphoedaphic Index
- 1 March 1982
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
- Vol. 111 (2) , 151-153
- https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8659(1982)111<151:acotmi>2.0.co;2
Abstract
Ryderˈs morphoedaphic index (MEI: Total dissolved solids, TDS/mean lake depth) was developed empirically as a predictor of fish yield. It generally accounts for 60 to 78% of the variation (corrected sums of squares) in fish yields observed in a set of data. However, no basis for these correlations has been proven or even generally accepted. We demonstrate that two mundane relationships may be the reasons the MEI appears to be valid. Quite simply, large bodies of water tend to produce greater fish yields than small ones, and large bodies of water tend to have greater mean depths than small ones. Mean depth acts as a surrogate for surface area in the MEI; however, surface area alone is a more powerful predictor. It accounts for 94% of the variation in fish yields observed in three combined sets of data reported in the literature. The variation accounted for by the regression only increased to 95% when TDS was added as a predictor.This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: