@article{eggleston_bell_searcy_2009, title={Do Blue Crab Spawning Sanctuaries in North Carolina Protect the Spawning Stock?}, volume={138}, ISSN={["1548-8659"]}, DOI={10.1577/T08-070.1}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={3}, journal={TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY}, author={Eggleston, David B. and Bell, Geoffrey W. and Searcy, Steven P.}, year={2009}, month={May}, pages={581–592} }
 @article{searcy_eggleston_hare_2007, title={Environmental influences on the relationship between juvenile and larval growth of Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus}, volume={349}, ISSN={["1616-1599"]}, DOI={10.3354/meps07124}, abstractNote={For marine organisms with bipartite life cycles, there is growing recognition that juve- nile traits may be dependent on previous larval history. The potential correlation between juvenile and larval stages is important to recognize, as growth rates in juvenile fish have been proposed to be an indicator of habitat quality. We investigated whether juvenile and larval growth are positively or negatively related using the estuarine-dependent fish Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus as a model species. The relationship between juvenile and larval growth was examined using both a laboratory study, in which fish were held in individual containers with constant water temperature and salinity, and replicated field experiments, which spanned a range of environmental conditions. There was no relationship between juvenile and larval growth rates in the laboratory experiment. However, results from the field study suggest that a positive relationship between juvenile and larval growth was associated with high levels of freshwater runoff that displaced juvenile croaker from nursery areas to downstream habitats, in which they had reduced feeding success. Variability in the correlation between juvenile and larval growth for the 27 cohorts examined (fish hatched during the same 1 wk period) was independently explained by change in salinity (a proxy for freshwater runoff) and feeding ability (percentage of fish with empty stomachs). Future research should recognize the role that variable environments play in our ability to detect the relationship of life-history traits between ontogenetic stages.}, journal={MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES}, author={Searcy, Steven P. and Eggleston, David B. and Hare, Jonathan A.}, year={2007}, pages={81–88} }
 @article{searcy_eggleston_hare_2007, title={Is growth a reliable indicator of habitat quality and essential fish habitat for a juvenile estuarine fish?}, volume={64}, ISSN={["1205-7533"]}, DOI={10.1139/F07-038}, abstractNote={ A common assumption throughout the marine ecological and fisheries literature is that growth is a valid indicator of habitat quality and can be used as a criterion for designation of essential fish habitat (EFH). In this study, the validity of growth as an index of habitat quality was tested by examining how variability in otolith growth was related to abiotic and biotic environmental conditions and could be biased by previous growth history, density dependence, and selective mortality. The study was conducted with juvenile Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) collected in two North Carolina, USA, estuaries during two seasons of two recruitment years. Water temperature, a component of habitat quality, explained nearly 40% of the variability in juvenile otolith growth. There was also evidence that estimates of growth could be biased by density dependence (slower growth at higher conspecific abundance) and by selective mortality (higher mortality of individuals with relatively slower larval and juvenile otolith growth). Studies using growth-based assessment of habitat quality that fail to identify factors underlying growth rate differences among habitats may reach incorrect decisions regarding quality of different habitats and assignment of EFH. }, number={4}, journal={CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC SCIENCES}, author={Searcy, Steven P. and Eggleston, David B. and Hare, Jonathan A.}, year={2007}, month={Apr}, pages={681–691} }
 @article{searcy_sponaugle_2001, title={Selective mortality during the larval-juvenile transition in two coral reef fishes}, volume={82}, number={9}, journal={Ecology (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)}, author={Searcy, S. P. and Sponaugle, S.}, year={2001}, pages={2452–2470} }
 @article{searcy_sponaugle_2000, title={Variable larval growth in a coral reef fish}, volume={206}, ISSN={["0171-8630"]}, DOI={10.3354/meps206213}, abstractNote={Understanding the functional linkages between the pelagic and demersal stages of marine organisms is a central goal in ecology. To better understand events that occurred during the larval period as well as their initial influence on juvenile traits, we examined individual level varia- tion in early life-history traits (larval and early juvenile otolith growth rates, size-at-age, and larval duration) of 3 seasonal cohorts of the common coral reef fish Thalassoma bifasciatum (Bloch) (Labri- dae). Juveniles were collected at regular intervals (every second day) for 2 wk following their first appearance on the nearshore reefs of Barbados, West Indies. Otolith analysis indicated that each cohort exhibited a broad range of larval traits. Individuals with shorter larval durations had faster otolith growth and settled at relatively smaller sizes (based on otolith length and standard length) than larvae with longer larval durations, which exhibited slower otolith growth rates. Despite the range in larval durations for T. bifasciatum, otolith growth records revealed no evidence for delay of metamorphosis. Instead, the range in larval durations is likely to be the result of a variable pelagic environment influencing growth rates. Because metamorphosis in this species is an energetically costly non-feeding (3 to 5 d) period, we propose that successful metamorphosis requires a minimum energy reserve. Slower growers may need to remain in the plankton longer (consequently attaining larger sizes) to obtain this minimum condition. Variability in early life-history traits also occurred among the seasonal cohorts. Despite differences in patterns of larval otolith growth, mean larval duration was similar for the 2 fall cohorts (57 and 55 d), but much shorter for the spring cohort (42 d). Such inter-cohort variability in early life-history traits suggests a variable pelagic environment. In contrast to the larval period, juvenile growth rates were much less variable within and among cohorts, reflecting a more constant physical and biological environment on the reef.}, journal={MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES}, author={Searcy, SP and Sponaugle, S}, year={2000}, pages={213–226} }