RICHARD S. FULFORD AND D. ALLEN RUTHERFORD, School of Forestry, Wildlife, & Fisheries, College of Agriculture, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA

Morphometric landmarks, homologous between biological forms, can be the basis for an unbiased measure of allometry within a biological group, as well as, for discrimination between groups. Landmark locations can be archived with computer imaging equipment, and may allow for discrimination between species during larval stages based on relative changes in landmark location. Our objective was to utilize a landmark-based morphometric technique to analyze between-group differences in allometry of larval striped bass. We selected nine homologous landmarks found along the outline of the mid-sagittal plane of larval specimens between 5 mm and 10 mm SL. These a priori landmarks were utilized to compare larvae fed a diet consisting of Artemia nauplii either with or without è-3 fatty acid supplementation. Principle component analysis indicated limited group shape differences between the two feeding groups. However, changes in within-group allometry over time indicated that variability in shape indices may be related to nutritional quality at this life stage. The impact of preservation technique on this type of analyses is discussed. This is a preliminary study for a planned comparison of differences in allometry between three species from the genus Morone.