Fish early-life history (ELH) research has a rich, century-long tradition. It serves as a cornerstone in stock assessments by providing critical indices for spawning-stock biomass and recruitment strength. Expanding the traditional definition of ELH (embracing eggs, larvae, and juveniles), this session aims to encompass crucial stages of adult maturation dynamics, echoing the timeless question: "What comes first, the chicken or the egg?" Monitoring ELH stages and adult maturation patterns significantly enriches our comprehension of how fish stocks respond ecologically to anthropogenic stressors and environmental drivers.
This session revisits this classical field in marine ecology through the lens of recent innovations. The burgeoning integration of technology and modern methodologies, such as optical plankton processing, genetic barcoding, and machine learning, promises to revolutionize analysis of ELH and maturity stages. At the same time, integrating new methods requires extensive fine-tuning to ensure consistency with long-term datasets spanning several decades. Therefore, there is a need to share and discuss successful (and less successful) stories of implementing these novel approaches.
This session welcomes contributions on the following topics:
- The current state of knowledge in ELH research, including process and time-series studies, to enhance understanding of ecosystem functioning.
- Novel approaches and methodologies, as well as future challenges.
- Potential innovative applications in stock assessment.
