Zusammenfassung: The authors sampled fishes and measured microhabitat in series of contiguous habitat units (riffles, runs, pools) in three Virginia streams. Monte Carlo simulations were used to construct hypothetical series of habitat units, then examined how number of species, similarity in relative abundances, and number of microhabitats accumulated with increasing number of habitat units (i.e., sampling effort). The curves indicated that 90% of the species present were usually found by sampling 5 to 14 habitat units (stream length of 22-67 stream widths). Estimates of species relative abundances required less sampling effort for a given accuracy than estimates of number of species. Rates of species accumulation (with effort) varied among streams and reflected discontinuity in species distributions among habitat units. Most discontinuity seemed to be due to low population density rather than to habitat selectivity. Results from an Illinois stream corroborated our findings from Virginia, and suggested that greater sampling effort is needed to characterize fish community structure in more homogeneous stream reaches.

Zusammenfassung: A dynamic model for open-access fisheries is presented. In addition to density dependence in recruitment and fishing effort changing in proportion to the level of profit fishermen earn which characterizes previous open-access models, it incorporates full age structure for the fish stock, lognormal environmental recruitment variability, and gear selectivity. The predator-prey cycling solution of the original Schaefer dynamic model, and subsequent open-access models, persists for these model extensions. Density dependence in recruitment induces greater global stability. Environmental recruitment variability, common in marine populations, is destabilizing in the neighborhood of the open-access equilibrium. Approximating model steady states of effort and catch by the corresponding averages from data time series underlies a new algorithm of parameter evaluation, applied here to an open-access model of the Georges Bank sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) fishery.

Zusammenfassung: Sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) were sampled from each of four scallop beds: the northeast peak of Georges Bank, Western Bank, St. Pierre Bank, and the Bay of Fundy near Digby, N.S. The outlines of scallop top shells were captured by video imagery using a semiautomated approach. Fourier shape descriptors were calculated and analyzed. Age and year-class effects were shown to be important factors influencing scallop shell shape. Allometric effects on Fourier harmonics also have a significant influence on shell shape in this species. Comparisons of Fourier harmonics between scallop beds separated by age and sampling year, and corrected for allometry, revealed significant differences in the majority of harmonic numbers.