THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BODY SIZE, SEDIMENT GRAIN-SIZE AND THE BURYING ABILITY OF JUVENILE PLAICE, PLEURONECTES-PLATESSA L

The ability of juvenile plaice (18–190 mm) to bury in sands varying in grain size from 0.062–2 mm was examined. For fish greater than approximately 30 mm in length the relationship between the proportion of the body covered with sand (C), total length (L, mm) and grain size (S, mm) can be estimated from the equation: logit C= 3.250 + 0.069L– 6.771S. Based on their performance in coarser sediments, fish smaller than approximately 30 mm did not bury as well as expected in the finest sediments (0.062 and 0.125 mm). Copyright © 1992, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved