Current theory suggests that population regulation in marine fishes can not be resolved until an understanding of processes involved in shaping the overall distribution is developed. This dissertation presents the findings of interdisciplinary research aimed at understanding Atlantic menhaden population patterns by studying the processes in the Middle and South Atlantic Bight which shape those patterns. Using individual based larval fish models and fully 3-dimensional hydrodynamic models we propose a new interpretation of the `mechanics' of the menhaden life history and include several potentially testable hypotheses. The linked models are used to characterize the dominant wind and tide-driven processes on the shelf of the Middle and South Atlantic Bights and to examine the interactions between larval vertical migration, larval vertical distribution and the seasonally evolving hydrodynamic flow field. We find that menhaden recruitment relies on nearshore spawning and alongshore transport, crosshelf transport is of secondary importance. A single spawning area can supply recruits to multiple estuaries. Under certain conditions, this can result in a predictable lag in the age of a cohort as it recruits into estuaries `downstream' of its spawning area. Due to the shape and orientation of the coastline near the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, recruitment into these bays is likely dependent on spawning to the north of the bays' mouths. Spawning in the South Atlantic Bight is therefore unlikely to supply recruits to the Chesapeake Bay. The size distribution of the adult population may influence the supply of larvae to particular estuaries along the coast. Escapement of larger individuals from the fishery could be especially important in the supply of larvae to estuaries in the northern sectors of the range. The success of the menhaden life history strategy depends on the evolution of the seasonal mean flow field in the Middle and South Atlantic Bight, suggesting that the life history may have been strongly structured by the physics of the system.