Exploring Stunted Body Size: Where Have We Been, What Do We Know, and Where Do We Go?

Although stunting is a fairly common phenomenon in fishes, confusion remains about underlying mechanisms and appropriate management strategies. Herein, I summarize current literature to provide a synthetic look at factors that can Cause Stunting and consider associated management strategies. First, I provide historical context by reviewing early literature, much of which is focused oil density-dependent slow growth as the cause of Stunting. A brief summary of more recent literature, however, suggests that stunting is often more complex than early investigations might indicate, and mechanisms such as early maturation and overexploitation of adults are considered. Because the bluegill Lepomis macrochirus is an extremely common reservoir species, a large body of literature related to its population size Structure and associated management strategies is available. Therefore, I use bluegill as a model system to describe how various mechanisms might lead to Stunting and indicate important considerations from a management standpoint. In the final section, I review management strategies and argue, among other things, that consistent language, clear identification of underlying mechanisms, and Multifaceted management approaches are necessary for robust results when dealing with stunted populations.