Abstract
Abstract Because predation mortality is often size-dependent, the survival and size structure of prey populations may vary substantially depending on the size structure of the predator assemblage. We tested this hypothesis in a replicated pond experiment in which a bimodal size distribution of young-of-year spot Leiostomus xanthurus was exposed to two sizes of southern flounder Paralichthvs lethostigina, each predator size-group present alone or together, at densities providing equal predation pressure, After 3 weeks, we examined cohort survival and size distributions of remaining spot. In the no-predator controls, spot size-frequency distributions were essentially unchanged, and survival of the large- and small-spot cohorts was similar. However, the size distribution of survivors, and the relative survival of large- and small-spot cohorts, differed markedly with the size structure of the predator assemblage, In the presence of small southern flounders, the large-spot cohort survived 4 times better than t...
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