BG fecundity as best I recall is not N-S (latitude) dependent. While a BG may produce 5000 fry per spawn in the South (5000 each of 4-5 spawns - total 25000 fry) up North, depending on location, a BG may spawn once but have 25000 fry. I will double check that and verify if possible.

BG and LMB up north have a faster first 6 mths growth rate than down south but that does not equal the longer growth period in the South. The temp at which LMB and BG stop growth due to high temps is far shorter than the non-growth (slow growth) rate up north. These are generalizations and there can be exceptions due to extreme location , altitude , weather etc.

Aggressiveness is a heritable trait in LMB and BG not tied to size and location. IMO there is a lot we don't know about BG and LMB heritable traits including life span (Fla LMB have a longer life span all things being equal) and continue growing until the end. See recent PB mag articles on the rate of genetic change in fish species and related adaptation (newer research indicates that the rate of change can be much faster than historically thought).

Also the fish brain and other functions are not comparable to mammals due to physiology - they don't work the same way. More on this later.

Last edited by ewest; 06/06/22 09:43 AM.