.... LMB in the deep south grow faster over a year because there are more growth days (warm days in which LMB metabolism is above neutral) during the year ...
... Food supply is KEY no matter the location as that is the biggest limiting factor to fish growth. Next key is population status (environment, balance , competition , stressed , overpopulated etc.). Then comes genetics. . .
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Eric,
This is a bit off topic but one of the questions that interests me is why don't BG grow as much in their first year as LMB can. I ask this from the perspective that if a BG ate as much as an LMB, it could. So growth can actually be similar or even favor BG if the there is significant competition for food in the 0 year. But on the other hand, separate them and give them as much food as they will eat .... and the LMB will outpace the BG considerably. So perhaps the answer is in the "give them as much as they will eat" piece (which notably is controlled by genetics). In other words, the BG won't eat as much as an LMB of similar weight. Even when food for the BG is not limited ... its propensity to eat is insufficient to grow as fast as an LMB with an unlimited supply of food. Perhaps, if food is not limiting, how much they will eat (and probably other important factors like efficiency) limits the rate of growth.
So one thing did stand out to me in your post about the spawning of LMB in Florida where it is less seasonal and much broader. Could there be an influence from being in prespawn more than one period per year that influences the feeding behavior of Florida females. Bulking up and having high propensity to consume for the purpose of building egg mass?
