Beginning 2, 19, and 30 d after hatching, larvae of sand lance Arnmodytes americanus were reared for 1 or 2 wk between 2 and 9 "C in the absence of food and at nominal feeding levels of 200 to 1,000 rotifers 1-' (0.16 to 0.80 cal I-'). Mortality of all age groups was unaffected by temperature. The mean daily instantaneous mortality coefficient of newly hatched larvae was 0.01 to Day 16 and was unaffected by feeding level. Mean daily instantaneous mortality coefficients of older larvae ranged from 0.2 to 0.02 and decreased with increasing feeding level. Growth rate and RNA-DNA ratio increased with increasing feeding level. A direct linear relation observed between RNA-DNA ratio and growth rate was improved by adding temperature as a second independent variable. The relation between RNA-DNA ratio, temperature, and larval growth rate was insensitive to either larval size (protein content) or age.

Ammodytes americanus adults were captured and transported to the laboratory and spawned. Eggs and larvae were successfully incubated at 2 , 4 , 7 and 10 'C. Speclfic growth rates in dry wt per day were 2.4 % at 2 "C, 3.23 % at 4 ' C . 4.75 % at ? 'C and 5.62 % at 10 "C. This was the first successful attempt to spawn sand lance in the laboratory and to rear the larvae through metamorphosis. The early life history of this fish can be completed under controlled laboratory conditions.

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