Early life stages of marine fishes play a crucial role in determining the subsequent abundance of adult fish available for harvest. Small differences in mortality rates or growth rates during the often fragile stages of early development can ultimately result in major differences in recruitment rates. The capability to predict the fate of individuals spawned in a particular year depends on understanding the processes that influence mortality and growth rates and the processes that determine spatial and temporal patterns of abundance. These processes are in large measure influenced by the behavior of individual fishes.

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)