Abstract
ABSTRACT: Partial migration, by which contingents within populations undertake divergentmigrations, is common in marine fishes but remains poorly documented. Intrapopulation groups offish with similar seasonal migration behaviors were noted early in the fisheries literature and haveattracted increased interest for their role in population resilience to environmental change andfishing. Here, we used acoustic telemetry to test historical hypotheses on contingent structure forstriped bass Morone saxatilis in the Hudson River, New York (USA), which harbors one of thelargest populations of this species. Season and region of release were used as design elements toevaluate 3 principal contingents. In total, 51 implanted striped bass were detected in New YorkHarbor (NYH), Hudson River, and other estuarine and coastal receiver arrays from June 2010through December 2011. Multivariate analyses of >500000 recoveries confirmed predictions of3 broad contingent behaviors, viz. those that principally utilized (1) the Upper Hudson RiverEstuary, (2) the NYH and Lower Hudson River Estuary, and (3) coastal waters, but commingled inupper Hudson River spawning habitats during late spring. All contingents occupied NYH, buttheir transit routes into and out of the harbor varied significantly. Further behavioral diversity wasobserved within contingents, including size-specific differential migration, multiple natal origins(natal divergence), and non-annual (skipped) spawning. Contingent structure within HudsonRiver striped bass likely distributes the influences of regional fisheries, pollution, and other en -vironmental forces, promoting stability and persistence in the overall population.KEY WORDS:
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