Postnatal growth and allometry of harbour porpoises from the Bay of Fundy

Abstract

We described patterns of growth and allometry from observations of 203 female and 198 male harbour porpoises, Phocoena phocoena, killed in commercial fisheries in the Bay of Fundy between 1985 and 1993. Gompertz growth curves were used to predict length, mass, and girth at physical maturity. Asymptotic sizes and growth rates were greater in females for all three characters. The pattern of allometry was consistent between sexes, but varied according to body region. The characters in the head and thoracic regions exhibited negative allometry, but those in the posterior of the body were isometric. Most characters showed the same growth rates for the two sexes, except those in the thoracic region, for which females exhibited faster growth than males. These results are consistent with those of several other studies of the harbour porpoise in which faster growth and larger sizes are attained by females.