Age estimation in three subtropical fish species by microstructural analysis of otoliths

IF 2.3 2区农林科学 Q2 FISHERIES

Fisheries Research Pub Date : 2025-06-02 DOI:10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107424

Letícia dos Santos Alves , Alberto Teodorico Correia , André Martins Vaz-dos-Santos

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Atherinella brasiliensis, Diapterus rhombeus and Eucinostomus argenteus are fish species widely distributed in the western Atlantic, inhabiting coastal habitats and the inner continental shelf (<50 m depth), where they play key ecological roles and have direct and indirect fishery value. Traditional otolith macrostructural analysis has failed to age these species; therefore, otolith microstructural analysis (OMA) was applied to both juvenile and adult specimens. Polishing of sagittal (for A. brasiliensis and E. argenteus) and transverse cross-sectioned (for D. rhombeus) otoliths allowed microincrements to be counted with precision between readers (average percent error values < 6 %). Counts were adjusted to overcome some artifacts near to the otolith edge due to the polishing process. Microincrements counts and radius measurements were used to back-calculate length-at-age data (modified Fry’s model) and then to fit growth models (multi-model inference). Methodological accuracy includes the adoption of the biological intercept (the beginning of the otolith radius-total length relationship) in the back-calculation. For A. brasiliensis, the number of microincrements varied between 125 and 374, for D. rhombeus were between 91 and 609, and for E. argenteus between 100 and 274. The Gompertz model best described the growth of A. brasiliensis (L_∞: 104.88 mm, K: 3.554_, G: 0.01154/day) and E. argenteus (L_∞: 109.23 mm, K: 2.517_, G: 0.0102/day) while the von Bertalanffy model best described the growth of D. rhombeus (L_∞: 232.01 mm, k: 0.00308/day, t₀: −2.179 days). These results are novel for these species, supporting the use of this method in species without clear macrostructural increments. Although laborious and time-consuming, OMA, combined with the proposed correction protocol for microincrements counts, offers a robust methodological framework to fill critical gaps in age and growth studies for coastal fish species in variable environments.

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用耳石显微结构分析估计三种亚热带鱼类的年龄

巴西Atherinella brasiliensis、菱形蝶翅目（Diapterus rhombeus）和银翅目（Eucinostomus argenteus）是广泛分布于大西洋西部沿海和内陆大陆架（<；50 m深度）的鱼类，具有重要的生态作用，具有直接和间接的渔业价值。传统的耳石宏观结构分析无法确定这些物种的年龄；因此，耳石显微结构分析（OMA）应用于幼年和成年标本。对矢状（巴西南方古猿和阿根廷南方古猿）和横截面（菱形古猿）耳石进行抛光，可以精确地计算出读取器之间的微增量(平均误差值<；6 %)。调整计数以克服由于抛光过程导致的耳石边缘附近的一些伪影。微增量计数和半径测量用于反算年龄长度数据（修改的Fry模型），然后拟合生长模型（多模型推断）。方法的准确性包括在反算中采用生物截距（耳石半径-总长度关系的开始）。巴西按蚊的微增量在125 ~ 374之间，菱形按蚊的微增量在91 ~ 609之间，银按蚊的微增量在100 ~ 274之间。Gompertz模型最能描述brasiliensis （L∞:104.88 mm, K: 3.554, G: 0.01154/day）和E. argenteus （L∞:109.23 mm, K: 2.517, G: 0.0102/day）的生长，von Bertalanffy模型最能描述D. rhombeus （L∞:232.01 mm, K: 0.00308/day, 0:−2.179 days）的生长。这些结果对这些物种来说是新颖的，支持在没有明确宏观结构增量的物种中使用这种方法。尽管费时费力，但OMA与拟议的微增量计数校正方案相结合，提供了一个强有力的方法框架，以填补可变环境中沿海鱼类年龄和生长研究的关键空白。

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来源期刊

Fisheries Research 农林科学-渔业

CiteScore

4.50

自引率

16.70%

发文量

294

审稿时长

15 weeks

期刊介绍： This journal provides an international forum for the publication of papers in the areas of fisheries science, fishing technology, fisheries management and relevant socio-economics. The scope covers fisheries in salt, brackish and freshwater systems, and all aspects of associated ecology, environmental aspects of fisheries, and economics. Both theoretical and practical papers are acceptable, including laboratory and field experimental studies relevant to fisheries. Papers on the conservation of exploitable living resources are welcome. Review and Viewpoint articles are also published. As the specified areas inevitably impinge on and interrelate with each other, the approach of the journal is multidisciplinary, and authors are encouraged to emphasise the relevance of their own work to that of other disciplines. The journal is intended for fisheries scientists, biological oceanographers, gear technologists, economists, managers, administrators, policy makers and legislators.