Zonation of submerged vegetation in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe and its ecological interpretation

The submerged vegetation of Lake Kariba is described in relation to degree of slope (lake morphometry), depth and light transparency. The direct gradient analysis technique - canonical correspondence analysis and the TWINSPAN classification programs were used to analyse the data set. The western end of the lake with low transparency has a low species diversity (with Vallisneria aethiopica dominating). Species diversity increases with increased transparency in the other parts of the lake. The classification revealed monospecific communities for all species as well as mixed communities with Lagarosiphon as the associate species with the broadest distribution. The ordination revealed a first axis strongly related to the depth and transparency gradients and the second axis related to slope.

A guide to the interpretation of sea trout scales

The overall purpose of this guide is to provide a manual for the collection and interpretation of sea trout scales. A brief introduction considers the advantages and disadvantages of using scales to determine age and growth. To ensure that scales are interpreted in a consistent manner, all major terms are defined and a standard system for age notation is proposed. The methodology for the collection, mounting and interpretation of scales is described in detail, and this is followed by a section on the back-calculation of lengths at different ages. Each topic is discussed critically. The final part of this guide is an atlas illustrating scales from a wide range of sea trout and including not only excellent "type-scales" but also difficult and impossible scales.

Parameterizing probabilities for estimating age-composition distributions for mixture models

When estimating parameters that constitute a discrete probability distribution {pj}, it is difficult to determine how constraints should be made to guarantee that the estimated parameters { pˆj} constitute a probability distribution (i.e., pˆj>0, Σ pˆj =1). For age distributions estimated from mixtures of length-at-age distributions, the EM (expectationmaximization) algorithm (Hasselblad, 1966; Hoenig and Heisey, 1987; Kimura and Chikuni, 1987), restricted least squares (Clark, 1981), and weak quasisolutions (Troynikov, 2004) have all been used. Each of these methods appears to guarantee that the estimated distribution will be a true probability distribution with all categories greater than or equal to zero and with individual probabilities that sum to one. In addition, all these methods appear to provide a theoretical basis for solutions that will be either maximum-likelihood estimates or at least convergent to a probability distribut

A Brief Interpretation of Summer Flounder, Paralichthys dentatus, Movements and Stock Structure with New Tagging Data on Juveniles

Summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus, are managed as a single stock along the Atlantic coast from the U.S.– Canada border to the southern border of North Carolina. Justification of the single-stock approach is based on lack of genetic evidence for multiple stocks and the difficulty presented by managing the species from Cape Hatteras to the U.S.–Canada border. In this review, we present an interpretation of various morphometric, meristic, biochemical, and tagging studies, published and unpublished, that indicate the presence of two, or possibly three, distinct stocks in the management area. In addition, we have included new data from a tagging study that was conducted on juveniles from Virginia that aids in defining the stock(s) north of Cape Hatteras. Summer flounder, overfished for the past two decades, is recovering, and reconsideration of proposed stock structure could have direct implications for management policy decisions.