Ontogenetic variability of maternal effects in an iteroparous fish

Maternal effects have been observed to interact with genotypic and environmental influences to structure offspring phenotypes across a wide variety of taxa. In fishes, maternal effects may be especially important due to their potential influence on development and survival during early ontogeny – a period with high potential for population regulation. While previous studies have confirmed that maternal effects on offspring phenotype are common in fishes, the consistency with which they positively affect offspring fitness throughout early ontogeny remains largely unknown. We examined maternal effects on offspring fitness by quantifying relationships between maternal (length, mass and age), egg (diameter, mass and density) and larval traits (length, yolk‐sac volume and survival) in yellow perch (Perca flavescens). Consistent with several past studies, positive relationships among maternal and egg traits were evident. While egg mass was positively related to larval size at hatching, direct relationships between maternal and larval metrics were not apparent. Larval survival appeared to have two critical periods; in contrast with expectations, survival in the first 5 days posthatch was strongly negatively related to female size and age, while survival over the following 9 days was unrelated to maternal traits. Throughout the study, survival was positively related to yolk‐sac volume. Our unexpected observation of a negative relationship between maternal size and age and initial larval survival indicates that maternal effects may not be consistent throughout larval ontogeny. In fact, maternal effects appear to be dynamic influences on offspring fitness, and may have complex effects on individual‐ and population‐level reproductive success.