Bull. Jpn. Soc. Fish. Oceanogr. 74(sp), Page 51-57, 2010   Growth and survival processes of larvae under variability of reproductive traits in small pelagic fish Akinori Takasuka National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Fisheries Research Agency, 2-12-4 Fukuura, Kanazawa, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-8648, Japan e-mail: takasuka@affrc.go.jp Variability of reproductive traits is assumed to exert effects on growth and survival after hatching through variability of egg size and quality for small pelagic fish. This short review focuses on the theoretical frameworks of the growth and survival processes which potentially link variability of reproductive traits to population dynamics. First, operation conditions are reviewed for three functional mechanisms of the “growth-survival” paradigm (“bigger is better,”stage duration,” and “growth-selective predation” mechanisms). These growth-based survival mechanisms are predator-specific, assuming that predation is the direct and major source of mortality. In the survival processes, growth rate serves as an amplifier transmuting the subtle changes of the environment into dramatic fluctuations in survival probability during early life stages. The key role played by growth rate in early survival makes it worth considering the effects of reproductive traits on survival dynamics of offspring. Finally, current and future issues are discussed along with the introduction of recent studies and reviews toward further advance in this research field. Key words: reproductive trait, growth-survival paradigm, early life history, small pelagic fish, predation mortality