Hake, mackerel, horse mackerel, anchovy and sardine larvae were identified from samples of ichthyoplankton collected during eight surveys in the Bay of Biscay between 2000 and 2005. Comparative analyses were carried out to explore the early growth patterns of these species based on differences in body proportion and the interpretation of the otolith microstructure to estimate their age. Statistical differences in development rates were observed for different body proportions. On the one hand, the larvae of hake, mackerel and horse mackerel prioritise the growth of those parts of the body related to feeding (body weight, head and jaw), while those of anchovy and sardine prioritise those related to swimming (body length). We propose that these different strategies are adaptations to reduce larval mortality, each of them focusing on the main factor that controls it during the early stages: starvation and predation. These growth strategies are interpreted from an environmental perspective mainly related to the characteristics of the food and the abundance of predators in the environment in which the larvae develop during this vulnerable life stage.

从 2000 年至 2005 年间在比斯开湾进行的 8 次调查中收集的浮游鱼样本中发现了无须鳕、鲭鱼、竹荚鱼、鳀鱼和沙丁鱼幼虫。 进行了比较分析，以根据身体差异探索这些物种的早期生长模式比例和耳石微观结构的解释以估计它们的年龄。观察到不同身体比例的发育速率的统计差异。一方面，无须鳕、鲭鱼和竹荚鱼的幼虫优先促进与摄食相关的身体部位（体重、头部和下巴）的生长，而鳀鱼和沙丁鱼的幼虫优先促进与游泳相关的部分（体长）的生长. 我们建议这些不同的策略是为了降低幼虫死亡率，他们每个人都专注于在早期阶段控制它的主要因素：饥饿和捕食。这些生长策略是从环境角度解释的，主要与食物的特征和幼虫在这个脆弱的生命阶段发育的环境中捕食者的数量有关。