Effects of Abundance and Water Temperature on Recruitment and Growth of Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) near South Bay, Lake Huron, 1954–82

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Abstract
Analysis of catches in pound nets provided indices of population size (ages 2-6) and of recruitment (ages 4-6) for alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) spawning in South Bay (1954-82). Four hypotheses concerning the effects of stock size and water temperature on growth and recruitment were tested statistically. The number of recruits per spawner was not a function of parental stock size, but was dependent on surface-water temperatures in June and July. although the size of both males and females at age 3 yr was positively related to surface-water temperatures in the three preceding summers, growth rates were only a function of water temperatures during the second year of growth (age 1). However, growth rates during the first, second, and third years of growth were all related to year-class strength. Thus, population abundance, through recruitment, was determined by an abiotic factor (water temperature), but growth was mostly affected by intraspecific competition for, presumably, food.