Evidence for resource partitioning and competition in nursery estuaries by juvenile flatfish in Oregon and Washington

Resource partitioning among co-occurring species can provide evidence that density-dependent survival can be a function of interspecific competition. Of the early life history stages of flatfish, the juvenile phase is thought to be the most susceptible to densitydependent mortality, and intraspecific competition among individuals is thought to lead to decreased survival of extremely strong year classes (Iles and Beverton, 2000). Juveniles of multiple flatfish species are often observed to coexist in a single nursery area (e.g., Burke et al., 1991; Henderson and Holmes, 1991; Reichert and van der Veer, 1991; Norcross et al., 1997), but evidence for interspecific competition is rarely examined. We examined evidence for resource partitioning and interspecific competition among juvenile flatfish species co-occurring in nursery areas. Flatfish species often have juvenile nursery areas that are segregated from the adult population. In many cases, juveniles use shallow nearshore habitats as nursery areas, and adults are found in deeper offshore habitats (Gibson, 1994; van der Veer et al., 2000). On the Pacific coast of North America, estuaries are typically smaller and occur less frequently than in other areas such as the Atlantic coast of North America. Possibly because of the limited estuarine habitat on the West Coast, fewer species of marine f ish and Evidence for resource partitioning and competition in nursery estuaries by juvenile flatfish in Oregon and Washington

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