JP: That seems to be the conventional wisdom (at least as it applies to BG/LMB stocking in the south), which is why I was a bit surprised to see that sediment turbidity actually caused an increase in growth and survival over algal turbidity when it comes to very young YP. I suspect that BG do better in algal turbidity than YP do, otherwise I would think that fertilization would be counter productive.
Maybe I'm missing something.
Well it's not just you missing something ... how about me and the authors of the paper and findings that you referred to? That said, there must be some very reasonable reasons. I haven't a clue what they are for each individual case but what I do know is this. If YP are growing faster in higher sediment turbidity then they must individually be eating more in those cases of the waters studied. We know that it probably is not the sediment sustaining them unless that dirt has calories. So, the answer would lie in why water with higher sediment turbidity is providing more food to YP YOY than in other water. I'll offer some suggestions. And none of them could be the reason for the observation but each may be worthy of study.
1. There is less competition and lower numbers of YP.
2. There is less competition and lower numbers (or even the absence of) competing species.
3. There are prey items that contribute to turbidity (eg some may flies do) and these benefited YP due to their benthic feeding habits more than their competitors.
