During the first few years of life, lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) occupy discrete nursery areas in small numbers (<100). Biotic and abiotic features vary among nursery areas, resulting in young sharks experiencing a range of physical and biological conditions that, in turn, influence life-history characteristics such as growth and mortality and are, therefore, directly related to population structure and ability to withstand fishing pressure. In the present study, we used tag and recapture data to estimate growth rates and construct size at age models for lemon sharks at Los Roques, Venezuela. Annual growth rates of lemon sharks were comparable to those in other nursery areas, but considerably higher than those reported for the well studied nursery at Bimini, Bahamas. Growth rate increased with age during the first 4 years of life for lemon sharks at Los Roques, while they occupied the nursery area. Comparison of growth rates of lemon sharks among geographically separate nursery areas showed no obvious relationships between growth rate and latitude or temperature. For species with broad geographical distributions, consideration of variability of life-history characteristics such as growth is important for accurate stock assessment and effective large-scale management of populations.

中文翻译：

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加勒比海南部岛屿托儿所幼年柠檬鲨（Negaprion brevirostris）的年龄和生长

在生命的最初几年，柠檬鲨 (Negaprion brevirostris) 占据了少量 (<100) 的离散育苗区。育苗区的生物和非生物特征各不相同，导致幼鲨经历一系列物理和生物条件，进而影响生长和死亡率等生活史特征，因此与种群结构和承受能力直接相关钓鱼压力。在本研究中，我们使用标记和重新捕获数据来估计委内瑞拉洛斯罗克斯柠檬鲨年龄模型的增长率和构建大小。柠檬鲨的年增长率与其他育苗区的增长率相当，但远高于巴哈马比米尼岛经过充分研究的苗圃报告的增长率。在洛斯罗克斯的柠檬鲨生活的前 4 年中，它们的生长速度随着年龄的增长而增加，而它们则占据了育苗区。地理上不同的育苗区柠檬鲨的生长率比较表明，生长率与纬度或温度之间没有明显的关系。对于地理分布广泛的物种，考虑生长等生活史特征的可变性对于准确的种群评估和有效的大规模种群管理很重要。