(full paper is archived in the Miller Library)
Title: An experimental assessment of growth performance of
juvenile speckled sanddab, Citharichythys stigmaeus, in
Monterey Bay, California
Student Author(s): Wolper, Caleb
Faculty Advisor(s): Carr, Mark
Pages: 14
Location: Senior Thesis UC Santa Cruz
Date: December 2000
Keywords: caging experiment, Citharichthvs stigmaeus,
growth rates
Abstract: I conducted a study to establish the appropriateness
of caging as a method to estimate growth rates of juvenile speckled
sanddabs, Citharichthvs stigmaeus, and to compare those growth
rates within and between the open coast of Monterey Bay, California
and a local estuary, Elkhorn Slough. I compared growth rates of
individuals constrained in cages for the duration of the comparison.
The study was conducted at four sites, with four replicate cages in
each site of four fish in each cage. Two of the sites were located
along the open coast of Monterey Bay, while the other two sites were
located in Elkhorn Slough. Fish were only recovered from the two
Elkhorn Slough sites. Only at one site were significant differences
in growth rates between cages detected (P=0.03). Using cages as
replicates, I did not detect a difference in growth rates between the
two sites. These results are discussed in terms of alternative
caging designs as well as hypotheses to account for the observed
patterns in growth rates.