Full Title
Sources and severity of mortality in freshwater fish during their early life stages
Supervisor
Paul Humphries (Charles Sturt University) and Shaun Meredith
Student
Nicole McCasker
Funding Body
Charles Sturt University
Duration
February 2005 - ongoing
Outcomes
PhD
Summary
Objectives
- What are the main sources of mortality of the egg, larval and early juvenile stages of freshwater fish?
- What role do life history traits play in determining the vulnerability of species to particular sources of mortality?
- What are the typical patterns of mortality loss during the major ontogenetic/developmental stages of young fish?
- Does a ‘critical period' or a survivorship ‘bottleneck' exist during the egg to early juvenile transition? What is the ecological significance of this time? i.e. is this period of potential high mortality responsible for determining year class strength?
- What traits, characteristics turn an individual into a survivor? Understanding the role of natural selection in mortality processes (e.g. body size, developmental stage, growth rate, size at hatching, yolk sac size).
