Parental effects on size variation in fish larvae

Abstract

The growth and changes in the standard deviation about mean length were measured for sole, Solea solea L., and herring, Clupea harengus L., larvae from crosses of one or two males with one or two females. The sizes of sole larvae did not differ between crosses but the size variation increased faster with age when two females were used. Both maternal and paternal effects were detected for size at hatching in herring, but there was no parental influence on size variation. Size variation in herring larvae declined or was stable during the yolk sac stage and was not affected by the number of parents used for fertilizations.