Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-995ml Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T10:04:55.575Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The relationship between fish size and otolith dimensions of stargazer (Uranoscopus scaber) in the south-eastern Black Sea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2014

N. Erdoğan Sağlam*
Affiliation:
Ordu University, Fatsa Faculty of Marine Sciences, Fatsa/Ordu, 52400-Turkey.
C. Sağlam
Affiliation:
Ege University, Faculty of Fisheries, Bornova/İzmir, 35040-Turkey
Y. Demir Sağlam
Affiliation:
Ordu University, Fatsa Faculty of Marine Sciences, Fatsa/Ordu, 52400-Turkey.
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: N. Erdoğan SağlamOrdu University, Fatsa Faculty of Marine Sciences Fatsa/Ordu, 52400-Turkey email: nes-34@hotmail.com

Abstract

Relations between fish size and otolith size of stargazer (Uranoscopus scaber) were studied in this study. A total of 268 samples were obtained from the coastal shelf of Ordu Province (south-eastern Black Sea) by commercial trawling and gillnetting operations. It was found that there were high correlations between fish size and otolith size. It was concluded that all measurable body sizes could be effectively used to estimate otolith length, width and weight. Similarly, estimation of the age of fish from otolith length and weight was also possible with high significance. The results of this research will be useful for others working on this fish, being a first study in the field. The ages of stargazer were determined between 0+ and 4+. Relationships were determined as OW = 0.001 × OWi2.76, OW = 0.35 × 10−3 × OL2.54 with high correlation coefficients of r = 0.965 and r = 0.949, respectively.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bostanci, D. (2009) Otolith characteristics and some population parameters of Mediterranean horse mackerel, Trachurus mediterraneus (Steindachner, 1868). Fırat University Journal of Science 21, 5360.Google Scholar
Battaglia, P., Malara, D., Romeo, T. and Andaloro, F. (2010) Relationships between otolith size and fish size in some mesopelagic and bathypelagic species from the Mediterranean Sea (Strait of Messina, Italy). Scientia Marina 74, 605612.Google Scholar
Cardinale, M., Arrhenius, F. and Johnsson, B. (2000) Potential use of otolith weight for the determination of age-structure of Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) and plaice (Pleuronectes platessa). Fisheries Research 45, 239252.Google Scholar
Chalanchuk, S.M. (1984) Ageing a population of the white sucker Catostomus commersoni by the fin-ray method. Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 1321, 116.Google Scholar
Das, M. (1994) Age determination and longevity in fishes. Gerontology 40, 7096.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Demirhan, S.A., Can, M.F. and Seyhan, K. (2007) Age and growth of stargazer (Uranoscopus scaber L., 1758) in the Southeastern Black Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 23, 692694.Google Scholar
Echeverria, T.W. (1987) Relationship of otolith length to total length in rockfishes from Northern and Central California. Fisheries Bulletin 85, 383386.Google Scholar
Granadeiro, J.P. and Silva, M.A. (2000) The use of otoliths and vertebrae in the identification and size-estimation of fish in predator–prey studies. Cybium 24, 383393.Google Scholar
Kasapoglu, N. and Duzgunes, E. (2012) The relationship between somatic growth and otolith dimensions of Mediterranean horse mackerel (Trachurus mediterraneus) from the Black Sea Journal of Applied Ichthyology 29, 230233.Google Scholar
Panfili, J. and Tomàs, J. (2001) Validation of age estimation and back calculation of fish length based on otolith microstructures in tilapias (Pisces, Cichlidae). Fisheries Bulletin 99, 139150.Google Scholar
Pawson, M.G. (1990) Using otolith weight to age fish. Journal of Fish Biology 36, 521531.Google Scholar
Pierce, G.J. and Boyle, P.R. (1991) A review of methods for diet analysis in piscivorous marine mammals. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 29, 409486.Google Scholar
Pierce, G.J., Boyle, P.R. and Diack, J.S.W. (1991) Identification of fish otoliths and bones in faeces and digestive tracks of seals. Journal of Zoology 224, 320328.Google Scholar
Polat, N. and Kukul, A. (1990) Age determination methods of Atlantic horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus in the Black Sea. In X National Biology Congress, Erzurum, Turkey, pp. 217–224.Google Scholar
Rizkalla, S.I. and Bakhoum, S.A. (2009) Some biological aspects of Atlantic stargazer Uranoscopus scaber Linnaeus, 1758 (family: Uranoscopidae) in the Egyptian Mediterranean water. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 9, 5966.Google Scholar
Sokal, R.R. and Rohlf, F.J. (1973) Introduction to biostatistics. San Francisco, CA: W.H. Freeman & Co.Google Scholar
Yan, Y., Wu, Y., Lu, H., Li, Z. and Jin, X. (2009) Using otolith weight to predict the age of Pennahia macrocephalus in the mouth of the Beibu Gulf. Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology 27, 342349.Google Scholar
Yankova, M., Raykov, V., Ivanova, P., Diasamidze, R., Mgeladze, M., Radu, G., Nicolaev, S., Agapov, S., Grinchenko, M., Oral, M., Düzgüneş, D., Öztürk, B., Bat, L., Karpova, E., Shlyakhov, V. and Boltachev, A. (2011) Black Sea fishes list, IUCN Status. Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey, Ukraine. Istanbul: Black Sea Commission Publications.Google Scholar