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Dear Colleagues-
A colleague and I are examining the relationship between stomach
contents and maturity state. The paradigm we were both raised on is
that fish develop gonads and spawn at the sacrifice of feeding, and then
recoup their energy by "binge" feeding after they are spent and during
the resting stage. A converse paradigm is that fish "binge" feed as
they are developing and spawn, then return to normal feeding. For
convention, we have termed these rester and ramper maturity-feeding
strategies respectively.
The rester strategy is referenced or implied in the literature
sporadically, and is the dominant paradigm of maturity-feeding
strategies. Yet although this strategy remains the convential wisdom on
the subject, we can not find the seminal description of this paradigm.
We have done a rather extensive search of the primary literature and
major fishery/ichthyology textbooks, but have failed to find data that
strongly support the origins for either paradigm.
I have this question for the list: can anyone point us to the seminal
paper describing the relationship between maturity and feeding? I will
collate all replies sent to me and redisperse them to the list.
Thank you in advance.
JL
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