Growth rate and relative otolith size in populations of adult Müller's pearlside Maurolicus muelleri

Within populations of adult Müller's pearlside Maurolicus muelleri the otolith radius tended to increase with age at a given fish length, which indicated the presence of a growth-rate effect. Among populations the relative otolith size was negatively correlated to growth-rate estimates, which again indicated a growth-rate effect. There were only minor differences in temperature conditions among the locations, and birth-date differences did not appear to account for variation in otolith radius relative to fish length in older age groups. The presence of a growth-rate effect may be useful, as the relative otolith size may be used for evaluation of age and growth estimates, although there are several limitations to its usefulness.     

Age and growth of the round goby Neogobius melanostomus in the Gulf of Gdańsk several years after invasion. Is the Baltic Sea a new Promised Land?

The ages of 8 to 23·5 cm total length (L(T)) round goby Neogobius melanostomus collected monthly during 2006 and 2007 in the Gulf of Gdańsk (Baltic Sea) ranged from 2 to 6 years, with age class 4+ years dominant. Males were larger at age than females. The fastest growth occurred in the first 2 years of life in both sexes. Females were heavier at a given L(T) than males, but only for fish > c. 15 cm. A strong relationship between N. melanostomus otolith size and fish size was found, with no difference between males and females, and a significant relationship between fish growth rate and otolith growth rate, which enabled backcalculation of growth rates. Marginal increment width analysis confirmed the periodicity of annual ring formation in otoliths and showed that the most intense opaque zone formation occurs in July to August, while hyaline zone formation starts as early as September to October. It was concluded that the N. melanostomus that have colonized the southern Baltic Sea exhibit the largest size and longest life span ever recorded for this species.     

The record of daily growth in otoliths of Atlantic silversides, Menidia menidia, from field and laboratory

Otoliths were removed from field-collected silversides of age less than 3 months. Otolith diameter was highly correlated with total length of the fish. Daily growth ring counts for this species are known to be a function of age rather than size, so widths for the daily growth rings provide a record of daily increases in length of the fish. Measurement of ring widths showed that weekly specific growth rate was greater than 70% at age 1 week, but declined to about 30% at age 1 month and about 15% at age 2 months. A laboratory experiment in which temperature was changed on a weekly basis demonstrated that environmental variables can affect the width of rings. Nevertheless, the growth rate of field-collected fish, as calculated from otolith ring widths, was more highly correlated with size of fish, as measured by otolith radius, than with the environmental variables of temperature, salinity and plankton abundance. Back-calculation of growth rates from otolith ring widths of five fish collected at the end of the growing season yielded the same age-growth curves as were obtained from 203 fish collected biweekly during the season.     

鲫耳石重量与年龄的关系及其在年龄鉴定中的作用

耳石重量在年龄组间重叠较少,大小相近的个体,年龄大的,即生长慢的耳石重量比年龄小的,即生长快的大,不同龄组之间耳石重量有显著差异（P＜0．05）,按年龄组在耳石重量与相应的体长作图,可初步判断观测年龄的可靠性,分析耳石重量频率分布能分离出体长相近,年龄不同的个体,其结构与耳石年轮观测的基本一致,耳石重量与年龄呈显著线性正相关（P＜0．05）,用耳石重量与年龄关系估算的年龄从耳石上直接读取的年龄无显著差异（P＞0．05）,文中对耳石重量直接用于确定鱼类年龄的可能性作了分析和探讨。     

Comparison of otolith growth and morphology with somatic growth and age in young-of-the-year bluefin tuna

Otolith morphological characteristics were studied using image analysis techniques and the relationships between otolith growth and somatic growth and age, as estimated from counting daily otolith increments, were examined in young-of-the-year (YOY) bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus ranging in fork length ( L _F) from 8·5 to 55·5 cm. Whole otolith length, width, area and perimeter, and three shape indexes, circularity, E value and rectangularity, were extracted for each pair of sagittae. Since no statistical significant differences between left and right otolith morphometrics were found, only one otolith from each fish was used for correlations. Statistically significant relationships were observed between otoliths measurements and fish somatic growth when a linear regression was applied after logarithmic transformation of all variables tested. Among the variables, otolith length was the one that showed the highest correlation with L _F, followed by otolith area and perimeter, whereas otolith rectangularity exhibited the lowest correlation. Statistically significant relationships were also observed between the otolith variables tested and the age of the fish, which ranged from 20 to 129 days. The ages estimated using otolith mass were very close to those assessed using daily increment counts (bias ranged from 1 to 24 days). Therefore, otolith mass could represent a valuable criterion for age estimation in YOY bluefin tuna that is objective, economic and easy to perform compared to daily increment counting method.     

Life history constraints explain negative relationship between fish productivity and dissolved organic carbon in lakes

Resource availability constrains the life history strategies available to organisms and may thereby limit population growth rates and productivity. We used this conceptual framework to explore the mechanisms driving recently reported negative relationships between fish productivity and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in lakes. We studied populations of bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) in a set of lakes with DOC concentrations ranging from 3 to 24 mg/L; previous work has demonstrated that primary and secondary productivity of food webs is negatively related to DOC concentration across this gradient. For each population, we quantified individual growth rate, age at maturity, age‐specific fecundity, maximum age, length‐weight and length‐egg size relationships, and other life history characteristics. We observed a strong negative relationship between maximum size and DOC concentration; for instance, fish reached masses of 150 to 260 g in low‐DOC lakes but <120 g in high‐DOC lakes. Relationships between fecundity and length, and between egg size and length, were constant across the DOC gradient. Because fish in high‐DOC lakes reached smaller sizes but had similar fecundity and egg size at a given size, their total lifetime fecundity was as much as two orders of magnitude lower than fish in low‐DOC lakes. High DOC concentrations appeared to constrain the range of bluegill life history strategies available; populations in high‐DOC lakes always had low initial growth rates and high ages at maturity, whereas populations in low‐DOC showed higher variability in these traits. This was also the case for the intrinsic rates of natural increase of these populations, which were always low at the high end of the DOC gradient. The potentially lower capacity for fish populations in high‐DOC lakes to recover from exploitation has clear implications for the sustainable management of recreational fisheries in the face of considerable spatial heterogeneity and ongoing temporal change in lake DOC concentrations.     

Validation of roughhead grenadier (Macrourus berglax) otolith reading

Roughhead grenadier Macrourus berglax Lacépède 1802, is becoming an important commercial fish in the north-west Atlantic fisheries and reliable age information is needed for its assessment. Macrourus berglax has been aged by counting otolith growth zones assumed to represent anulli. Three validation methods were applied: back-calculation of length-at-age, length–frequency analysis, and analyses of the progression of the length mode of an exceptionally large year class. Results on size-at-age estimated by otolith growth zone counts, length–frequency analysis of pre-anal fin length and modal progression were internally consistent, but estimates by back-calculation were different. This latter method produces unrealistic growth curves for each sex due to the weak relationship between otolith size as measured and pre-anal fin length. Up to age 8–9 the size-at-age were the same for males and females; thereafter males were smaller than females. Male growth rate declined when pre-anal fin length reached 18 cm at around age 9, whereas the growth of females started to decline at about 30 cm at around age 16. The Von Bertalanffy growth model derived from otolith analysis was similar to that obtained by the Multifan length frequency analysis model, and gave realistic values of L _inf, close to the maximum anal fin lengths found in catches. The results showed that Macrourus berglax has a prolonged life cycle and differences in growth between males and females.     

Analyses of growth processes of pond smelt, Hypomesus nipponensis, in Lake Ogawara, Japan, through the use of daily otolith increments

It has been reported that pond smelt, Hypomesus nipponensis, in Lake Ogawara, Japan, appear in small and large size groups during spawning despite being an annual fish. It is hypothesized that pond smelt have a bimodal life history, anadromous for large size groups and resident in the lake for small size groups. We calculated the body length and growth rate of the small and large size groups through the use of daily otolith increments and compared growth parameters between groups. In addition, the growth processes of resident fish in Lake Ogawara and anadromous fish in the adjacent sea were examined and compared with small and large size groups, respectively. We found that the two size groups diverged after 40–50 days from hatching with significant size groups present after 50 days. Through otolith increment analysis the growth processes of the small and large size groups were correlated with resident and anadromous forms respectively. These results revealed the utility of otolith increment analyses to clarify population structure of this species.     

The relationship between somatic growth and otolith dimensions of Mediterranean horse mackerel (Trachurus mediterraneus) from the Black Sea

In this study the relationships between somatic growth and otolith dimensions of Mediterranean horse mackerel (Trachurus mediterraneus) were investigated from samples obtained in the southeastern Black Sea area. It was concluded that there is a significant relationship between fish size and otolith dimensions. Therefore, age of Mediterranean horse mackerel can be estimated from otolith length and weight with sufficient certainty. This research was the first study of these relationships for T. mediterraneus from the Black Sea.     

Historical changes in juvenile southern bluefin tuna Thunnus maccoyii growth rates based on otolith measurements

Suspected historic changes in juvenile southern bluefin tuna Thunnus maccoyii growth rates were investigated using otolith increment width data. Four hundred and ninety otoliths were selected from fish estimated to be between 1 and 41 years-old. The distance between the first five annuli were measured on the otoliths, giving estimates of otolith growth for age classes 1+ to 4+ years for fish spawned from the early 1960s to mid 1990s. The data showed that growth rates of juveniles (age 1+ and 2+ years) started to increase at around 1979–1980, and that growth continued to increase throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Lee's phenomenon was not observed in the data. Correlation tests did not reveal clear relationships between annual otolith growth and regional environmental variables such as sea surface temperature or Southern Oscillation Index. The increase in otolith growth, however, was consistent with juvenile growth estimates obtained from other sources, and correlated with large-scale trends in population size and environmental conditions.