Cannibalism and size dispersal in young-of-the-year largemouth bass: Experiment and model

A mathematical model for the dynamics of a population of young-of-the-year largemouth bass was formulated on the basis of laboratory experiments. The model was used to make a tentative test of the hypothesis that differing availabilities of alternative foods are decisive in determining the rates of cannibalism and, hence, differences in the observed behavior of the laboratory populations. It was found that slight differences in the degree of dispersal of initial sizes of individuals were probably more important in influencing the population dynamics than alternative food availability or other factors. The model was then compared with data on largemouth bass growth from pond experiments, which showed that, with some modifications of parameter values, the model is also capable of describing the young-of-the-year population dynamics in a pond.