THE IMPORTANCE OF SAMPLER MESH SIZE WHEN ESTIMATING TOTAL DAILY EGG-PRODUCTION BY PSEUDOCALANUS SPP IN SHELIKOF STRAIT, ALASKA

Estimates of Pseudocalanus spp. total daily egg production were made for spring and summer months using concentration and prosome length of adult females from 333 and 150 mum mesh samplers fished simultaneously during surveys of larval walleye pollock (Gadidae; Theragra chalcogramma) in Shelikof Strait, Alaska. Retention of congeneric females by the two samplers varied among months because of change in body size, species composition and abundance. This variability created bias in total daily egg production estimates when relying on female length and concentration from only one of the samplers.