Publications by authors named "Wade D Smith"
Despite evidence of maternal age effects in a number of teleost species, there have been challenges to the assertion that maternal age intrinsically influences offspring quality. From an evolutionary perspective, maternal age effects result in young females paradoxically investing in less fit offspring despite a greater potential fitness benefit that might be gained by allocating this energy to individual somatic growth. Although a narrow range of conditions could lead to a maternal fitness benefit via the production of lower quality offspring, evolutionary theorists suggest these conditions are seldom met and that the reported maternal age effects are more likely products of the environmental context.
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- Most shark species are smaller and primarily live near the seafloor, with less than half of the 73 documented species in the eastern North Pacific reaching over 200 cm in length.
- Diet varies significantly among shark species based on size and habitat, with smaller species often eating fish and crustaceans, while larger ones consume bigger prey like squids and large fish, and some large species primarily feed on zooplankton.
- Sharks exhibit different feeding habits based on age and habitat, impacting their ecosystems indirectly by influencing prey behavior, despite being less recognized for their ecological role compared to larger fish species like tunas.
Differences in the chemical composition of calcified skeletal structures (e.g. shells, otoliths) have proven useful for reconstructing the environmental history of many marine species.
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