中西太平洋鲣鱼的年龄鉴定和生长特性

鱼类的年龄和生长等生物学参数对于准确评估渔业资源非常重要.本文于2007年10月至2008年1月,利用围网渔船在中西太平洋海域采集了262尾鲣鱼样本,现场测定其叉长（278～746 mm）和体质量（345～9905 g）,并搜集第一背鳍鳍棘用于鉴定其年龄和生长状况.结果表明：鲣鱼叉长（L, mm）与体质量(M,g)的关系式为M=3.612×10^-6L^{3. 278} （R²=0.9782）,性别对其影响不显著（F=2.002,P>0.05）;经赤池信息量标准（AIC）评估,在幂函数、线性及指数3种回归关系中,线性回归模型最好地拟合了鲣鱼叉长与鳍棘截面半径之间的关系(AIC=2257.4);采用Fraser-Lee法求得的鲣鱼1～5龄平均逆算叉长分别为398.4、494.2、555.4、636.8和728.8 mm;经残差平方和分析,雌雄鲣鱼的生长状况间不存在显著性差异(F=0.670;df=182;P>0.05),推得鲣鱼von Bertalanffy生长方程为L_t=706.51(1-e^{-0.64(t+0.037)}).     

北海抹香鲸的年龄鉴定

将2001年5月在广西琼州海峡获得的一头体长约18．0m的特大型雄性抹香鲸(Physeter macrocephalus)遗骸的下颌齿,用自制的器械将齿沿着纵向锯成厚约1～5mm的10个薄片,用600目和2000目的金砂纸精磨和抛光至约150μm。由9位具有用耳石或鳞片鉴定鱼类年龄经验的学者,用肉眼和解剖镜观察齿纵切面的微观结构和轮纹特征。根据对牙齿磨片牙骨质和牙齿齿质上的生长层组判断,其年龄约为29龄。     

中华鲱鲇年龄鉴定及生长特征

对2009-2010年采自澜沧江下游的188尾中华鲱鲇(Clupisoma sinensis)进行了年龄与生长的研究.采用耳石、脊椎骨、鳃盖骨、胸鳍棘4种材料对全部样本进行年龄鉴定,耳石年龄鉴定最为准确,4-5月是年轮形成高峰期.渔获种群由1-6龄共6个龄组组成,以1-4龄个体为主.体长与耳石半径呈线性函数关系.体长与...     

江豚的年龄鉴定、生长和生殖的研究

本文根据在长江中下游,长江口和中国东北沿海收到的68头江豚标本,对江豚年龄鉴定的方法作了摸索和研究。从年龄,生长和生殖的角度系统分析了江豚的一些种群生物学特征。江豚年龄与生长的关系在一定范围内遵循的幂函数型式。4-5龄以前,江豚的生长迅速,此后减慢。江豚首次性成熟年龄雌性4龄,雄性4.5龄。性成熟时体长雌性133cm,雄性140cm。根据16头胎儿资料,用对数分割法反推出江豚的交配期较长,并有两个可能的交配高峰,分娩的高峰为2-4月。断奶年龄约为0.5龄。粗略估算长江江豚的年生殖率为20％。长江的江豚和中国沿海的江豚在形态和种群结构上各具特点。从江豚的年龄组成看出,幼龄组(0-4龄)的比例较大,结构基本正常。       

辽宁海域东亚江豚的年龄鉴定与生长规律

对2007-2018年辽宁海域发现的39头死亡东亚江豚(Neophocaena asiaeorientalis sunameri)进行了外部形态参数测量和生长规律分析,并通过观察牙齿中的生长层组对2014-2018年的27头江豚个体进行了年龄鉴定.结果表明:死亡江豚以0~4龄个体为主,雄性21头,雌性18头;同龄雌雄个体间的体长、体重均无显著差异(P>0.05);所有江豚样本的体重与年龄(Y=137e^-2.475exp(-0.205t))、体长与年龄(Y=232(1-0.680e^-0.161t)均极显著相关(P<0.01),且随年龄增大,体重、体长均增加但增速下降.死亡江豚的发现时间在不同的海域存在差异:黄海北部海域集中在每年的3-6月,以大连星海湾至老虎滩沿岸为多;渤海的辽东湾海域主要在每年的10-11月初,多发现在大连长兴岛以北的海域.辽东湾海域江豚的死亡多发生在渔业作业期,可能与渔业生产活动有关.研究还发现,在一年中辽东湾海域死亡江豚集中出现的时间与斑海豹的分布期存在交替现象,是否与两种海洋哺乳动物适应海水温度能力、种群间的食物竞争以及季节性迁移等因素有关还有待于进一步的研究.     

白鲟年龄鉴定及其生长的初步研究

以齿骨和胸鳍条为年龄鉴定材料,通过其骨磨片比较研究,结果显示用胸鳍条鉴定白鲟的年龄较为可靠。所收集的６６尾白鲟样品中,根据胸鳍条鉴定年龄,幼鲟８尾,１－３龄。成鱼５８尾中,雄鱼３３尾,最低６龄,最高１１龄,多数个体为８－９龄。雌鱼２５尾,最低７龄,最高１７龄,多数为１０－１２。白鲟生长速度快,特别在第一年其长度生长最为突出。当年１０月份的幼鱼全长达５３－６１ｃｍ,１龄鱼平均全长７５ｃｍ。推算结果表明雌雄鱼在性成熟前生长无明显差异,性成熟后,雌鱼的长度及重量均大于相同年龄雄鱼。采用ＶＢＧＦ描述白鲟全长及体重的增长。     

大麻哈鱼的年龄与生长

通过对2010和2011年采捕到乌苏里江大麻哈鱼洄游群体571个样本的鳞片观察和基础生物学测定,研究了大麻哈鱼的年龄判定和生长模拟。大麻哈鱼鳞片属于典型圆鳞,有明显的年轮特征,为一年一个周期,年轮特征表现为疏密型。部分鳞片有明显幼轮,幼轮和年轮根据鳞径大小能够区分。采集样本的雌雄组都分为2+,3+,4+三个年龄组,也都以3+龄组数量最多。采用特殊Von Bertalanffy、Logistic、Gompertz和幂指数生长方程分别模拟了大麻哈鱼1—4龄间的生长,通过最大似然法估计各模型的参数。采用残差平方和(Analysis of the residual sum of squares,ARSS)分析得出大麻哈鱼雌雄个体间生长无显著差异(P>0.05),故将雌雄个体放一起进行生长模拟。AIC和BIC检验结果显示特殊VBGF方程为最适生长模型,公式为:Lt=90.04×[1 e 0.3(ti+0.27)]。大麻哈鱼的生长速度随着年龄增长逐年降低,且性成熟年龄小的个体生长速度大于性成熟年龄大的个体。应对大麻哈鱼年龄与生长进行长期监测,为增殖放流等渔业资源管理措施提供基础资料。     

人工圈养瓶鼻海豚的体重与体长的相关性分析

运用简单线性相关及回归分析方法,对人工圈养条件下20头太平洋瓶鼻海豚(Tursiopsgilli)的体重与体长的相关性分析结果表明,海豚体重与体长呈显著正相关(r=0.960,P<0.01),其体重随体长变化的回归方程为^Y=2.19X-368.65;体重与体长的比值随着体长的增加而增加,且呈直线趋势。依据海豚体重与体长的相关分析来控制其体重,从而提高科学饲养管理水平,使海豚的摄食量、训练行为与健康之间保持平衡,是很有必要的。     

铜鱼年龄与生长的初步研究

铜鱼年龄与生长的初步研究刁晓明,周容树西南农业大学水产系重庆６３０７１６铜鱼（Ｃｏｒｅｉｕｓｈｅｔｅｒｏｄｏｎ）是长江上游主要渔获物之一。资源的稳定一直是鱼类学工作者关注的问题￣［１－６］。作者１９９２年继续研究了长江重庆江段铜鱼年龄与生长,并分析其...     

鄱阳湖乌鳢的年龄与生长

研究了鄱阳湖鸟鳢年龄结构与生长特征.其年轮特征为典型的疏密切割型,年轮形成时间主要在3～5月;渔获群体年龄由Ⅰ～Ⅵ龄组成,优势体长为35.5～48.8 cm,优势体重为630～1224 g:体长与鳞长关系式为:L=0.8124 10.119S(r=0.96),体长与体重关系式为:W=1.73×10-2L2.95(r=0.97),属均匀生长类型,可用Von Bertalanffy生长方程来描述其体长与体重生长规律.根据鄱阳湖乌鳢资源利用的现状,建议将捕获年龄提高到4 a,相应体长45～55 cm,体重2500～2200g.     

Differences in oscillatory whistles produced by spinner (Stenella longirostris) and pantropical spotted (Stenella attenuata) dolphins

Acoustic recordings of two closely related species, spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) and pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata), were investigated from four different geographic locations: two in the Central Tropical Pacific, one in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and one in the Indian Ocean. The two delphinid species occur in tropical and warm temperate waters, with overlapping ranges. They produce very similar vocalizations, but at the same time their calls exhibit a certain degree of intraspecific variation among different geographic locations as has been observed in other delphinid species. Oscillatory whistles (whistles with at least two oscillations in their frequency contours) were identified and manually extracted from the recordings. Whistles with four or more maxima (oscillations) occurred only in spinner dolphins and they were present in all geographic regions investigated. In addition, the oscillatory whistles with two and three maxima were significantly more frequent in spinner than in spotted dolphins. The differences in oscillatory whistles for these two species seem to be consistent across study areas and therefore, could be used in addition to other whistle features to help distinguish between them.     

Hematological,serum, and plasma chemical constituents in pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata) following chase,encirclement, and tagging

Hematology, serum chemistry, and plasma hormones were evaluated in 72 pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata attenuata) from the eastern tropical Pacific in an attempt to define the degree of stress associated with chase and encirclement by a tuna purse seiner, and are here reported for the first time for this species. Dolphins had high levels of dopamine and moderately elevated levels of enzymes indicative of the expected muscle damage following exertion of the chase. The length of time between the start of the capture operation and blood sampling correlated with increases in platelet and white blood cell counts and mean cell hemoglobin concentration, while the length of time between net tie‐down and blood sampling influenced platelet, white blood cell, and eosinophil counts. Ten dolphins recaptured 1–3 d after their first capture had significantly lower serum creatinine kinase, thyroid (T4) and globulin levels compared to values in dolphins sampled at nominal first capture. Although small sample sizes and large individual variation limit interpretation, these data indicate a stress response occurred in all dolphins, but the extent of the response is within the expected range for adaptive responses previously measured in limited numbers of wild mammals.     

Allometric patterns of fetal head growth in mysticetes and odontocetes: Comparison of Balaena mysticetus and Stenella attenuata

Unlike other mammals, odontocetes and mysticetes have highly derived craniofacial bones. A growth process referred to as “telescoping” is partly responsible for this morphology. Here, we explore how changes in facial morphology during fetal growth relate to differences in telescoping between the adult odontocete Stenella attenuata and the mysticete Balaena mysticetus. We conclude that in both Stenella and Balaena head size increases allometrically. Similarly, odontocete nasal length and mysticete mouth size have strong positive allometry compared to total body length. However, the differences between odontocetes and mysticetes in telescoping are not directly associated with their fetal growth patterns. Our results suggest that cranial changes related to echolocation and feeding between odontocetes and mysticetes, respectively, begin during ontogeny before telescoping is initiated.     

Biphonal calls in Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis): bitonal and burst-pulse whistles

Biphonation, the simultaneous production of two sounds by a single animal, is found in the vocalizations of a range of mammalian species. Its prevalence suggests it plays an important role in acoustic communication. Concurrent vocal and behavioural recordings were made of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) off Bimini, The Bahamas. The occurrence of two types of biphonal signals is reported: burst-pulse whistles with combined tonal and burst-pulse elements, and bitonal whistles. Biphonal whistles are rarely described in reports of dolphin acoustic repertoires, but were common in these dolphins: of all whistles analysed (n = 1211), 26.84% were burst-pulse whistles and 4.71% were bitonal whistles. A subset of whistles (n = 397) were attributed to dolphins of specific age classes, and used to compare prevalence of biphonation across age. Biphonation occurred in 61.54% of sexually mature and 48.32% of sexually immature dolphins’ whistles. Sexually immature dolphins emitted more burst-pulse whistles than older dolphins: 44.13% of sexually immature dolphins’ whistles were burst-pulse whistles, while 15.38% of adult whistles were burst-pulse whistles. Bitonal whistle production was more prevalent in sexually mature dolphins: 41.03% of adult whistles were bitonal, while only 4.19% of sexually immature dolphins’ whistles were bitonal. The prevalence of a biphonal component in specific repeated, stereotyped whistle contours suggests that these acoustic features could be important components of contact calls, or signature whistles. The biphonal components of spotted dolphin whistles may serve to convey additional information as to identity, age or other factors to conspecifics.     

Movements and diving behavior of pelagic spotted dolphins

We radio tracked 20 pantropical spotted dolphins ( Stenella attenuata ) in the pelagic waters of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean during three research cruises in 1992, 1993, and 2001. Dolphins were tracked for up to 6 d from 20 to 1,000 km offshore. Seventeen of these dolphins also carried time–depth recorders, nine of which were recovered with a combined total of 477 h of dive data. The movement data suggested that the dolphins associate with areas of relatively high biological productivity. Dolphins close to shore moved along the continental slope, while some dolphins traveled farther offshore along thermocline "ridges." Tracking and tagging multiple dolphins demonstrated the dynamic nature of dolphin herds, which change size and membership over the course of a day. At night, the dolphins traveled more slowly but dove deeper and longer, with more rapid ascents and descents than during daylight hours. These nighttime dive characteristics support the hypothesis suggested by some food habit studies that spotted dolphins are nocturnal feeders. Comparison of dive data with acoustic backscatter data indicates that spotted dolphins typically begin and end nighttime feeding activities with dusk and dawn diving bouts that track the vertical migration of organisms associated with the deep scattering layer.     

Morphometry and sexual dimorphism of the coastal spotted dolphin, Stenella attenuata graffmani, from Bahía de Banderas, Mexico

External measurements and size differences between the sexes were examined in the coastal spotted dolphin, Stenella attenuata graffmani , in Bahía de Banderas, on the Mexican Pacific coast. The dolphins were collected by local fishermen and 29 external characteristics were measured by members of the Marine Mammals Laboratory, University of Mexico. The length of each characteristic with respect to total length was analysed through adjustment of the data to a power equation. A stepwise discriminant analysis was applied to the absolute values and to those expressed as proportions to analyse the differences between the sexes. Results indicate that growth in these dolphins is generally negatively allometric, and most of the characteristics measured were, in both absolute and proportional terms, greater in male dolphins than in female dolphins. As found in many species of odontocetes, the discriminant analysis showed that the main differences between the sexes for this coastal subspecies include the relative positions of the umbilicus, the genital aperture and the anus. The morphometric data provided by this study, corresponding to 29 specimens of S. a. graffmani collected in a restricted locality of the Mexican Pacific coast, are particularly interesting to studies documenting latitudinal morphological differences in the coastal spotted dolphin.     

Head morphology in perinatal dolphins: a window into phylogeny and ontogeny

In this paper on the ontogenesis and evolutionary biology of odontocete cetaceans (toothed whales), we investigate the head morphology of three perinatal pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata) with the following methods: computer-assisted tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, conventional X-ray imaging, cryo-sectioning as well as gross dissection. Comparison of these anatomical methods reveals that for a complete structural analysis, a combination of modern imaging techniques and conventional morphological methods is needed. In addition to the perinatal dolphins, we include series of microslides of fetal odontocetes (S. attenuata, common dolphin Delphinus delphis, narwhal Monodon monoceros). In contrast to other mammals, newborn cetaceans represent an extremely precocial state of development correlated to the fact that they have to swim and surface immediately after birth. Accordingly, the morphology of the perinatal dolphin head is very similar to that of the adult. Comparison with early fetal stages of dolphins shows that the ontogenetic change from the general mammalian bauplan to cetacean organization was characterized by profound morphological transformations of the relevant organ systems and roughly seems to parallel the phylogenetic transition from terrestrial ancestors to modern odontocetes.     

Social structure of Atlantic spotted dolphins,Stenella frontalis,following environmental disturbance and demographic changes

Extreme environmental events and demographic changes can have variable effects on the social structure of animal populations. This study compared the social structure of a community of Atlantic spotted dolphins in the Bahamas before and after two hurricanes. Approximately 36% of the individuals were lost, with no subsequent increase in immigration. The majority of the social structure characteristics were consistent with results from a long‐term study covering the previous 12 yr, including community structure with definitive social clusters, sex preferences and overall association patterns. However some changes occurred, though still constrained within sex preferences. Posthurricane there was a decrease in social differentiation and increased cohesion within clusters and across age class. Males retained or made new first order alliances, however, only one second order alliance was evident, revealing a simplified alliance structure. Juvenile individuals made alliance level associations, unprecedented from long‐term analysis. Although other studies have shown stark restructuring, this study showed that less drastic changes within overall social structure stability can occur. Persistence and evolutionary changes in populations through environmental and/or demographic perturbations may depend on the social structure of a population or community. Understanding the processes involved in social development is paramount for conservation of diverse populations.     

Circadian and seasonal rhythms in the behavior of spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris)

The present study investigated both circadian and seasonal fluctuations in the daytime activities of the spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris , from the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago in Brazil. The number of dolphins, and aerial, and reproductive activities were documented. The observations were carried out from January 1997 to December 2001. Temporal series and rhythmic characteristics (mesor, rhythmic percentage, and acrophase) were obtained by COSINOR analysis and later compared. The dolphins entered the bay in the morning, displayed aerial and reproductive activities during daytime, and left the bay in late afternoon to the open ocean. This study indicated that the rainy season affected the three behaviors investigated decreasing the rhythms parameter and advancing the beginning of these activities. The number of individuals was higher during the dry season and the animals stayed longer inside the bay. During the dry season, there was a bimodal expression of aerial activity, expressing a longer use of the temporal niche than in the rainy season. The phases with high frequencies of aerial activity seemed associated with those showing high reproductive activity, both with peak frequencies at about 0800. The results represent an important contribution to the advancement of chronobiological studies, and to the biology of cetaceans, considering that the existence of circadian and seasonal rhythms was proven in the behavior of spinner dolphins in an area of the SW Atlantic. Moreover, it allows restricting periods of the day for the activities of tourism as a form of minimizing the impacts of the boats on the dolphins.