Larval Fish Age, Growth, and Body Shrinkage: Information Available from Otoliths

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 1884-1894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Radtke
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Larval Fish ◽  
Quadratic Function ◽  
Age And Growth ◽  
Fish Length ◽  
Elapsed Time ◽  
Developmental Rates ◽  
The Relationship

External and internal examination of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) otoliths for macrostructure and microstructure, by light and scanning electron microscopy, indicated daily rhythmic patterns. The first daily increment developed the day after hatching. Sagittae changed shape from spherical to oblong at 20 d and to crenulated at 50−60 d old. Cod were reared at three temperatures (6,8 and 10 °C), to provide a range of growth and developmental rates. Distinctive marks formed at yolk-sac absorption, initiation of feeding and settlement. It was possible to determine age and growth rate from otolith analyses. The relationship between otolith length and fish size was independent of growth rate; it followed a quadratic function for the smaller individuals (< 6.5 mm), and it was linear in individuals greater than 25 mm. Larval fish shrank considerably at death. The magnitude of shrinkage was dependent on larval length, and the elapsed time between death and fixation. Immediate fixation in ethanol resulted in minimal shrinkage. The relationship between fish length and otolith diameter may be used to correct for shrinkage associated with collection and death.

Relationships Between RNA–DNA Ratio, Prey Density, and Growth Rate in Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) Larvae

1979 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 1497-1502 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Buckley
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Prey Density ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Slow Growth ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Larval Fish ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Dna And Rna

The protein, DNA, and RNA content of larvae maintained at 1.0 plankter/mL increased at the rates of 9.3, 9.9, and 9.8% per day, respectively, for the 5 wk after hatching. Protein reserves of larvae held at 0 or 0.2 plankters/mL were depleted by 45 and 35%, respectively, prior to death 12–13 d after hatching. Starved larvae had similar protein concentrations (percent of dry weight), lower RNA concentrations, and higher DNA concentrations than fed larvae. Larvae held at higher plankton densities had higher RNA–DNA ratios and faster growth rates than larvae held at lower plankton densities. The RNA–DNA ratio was significantly correlated (P < 0.01) with the protein growth rate. The RNA–DNA ratio appears to be a useful index of nutritional status in larval Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and may be useful for determining if cod larvae were in a period of rapid or slow growth at the time of capture. Key words: RNA–DNA ratio, starvation, protein, nucleic acids, growth, larval fish, Atlantic cod

scholarly journals Age and growth rate variation influence the functional relationship between somatic and otolith size

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 680-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eloïse C. Ashworth ◽  
Norman G. Hall ◽  
S. Alex Hesp ◽  
Peter G. Coulson ◽  
Ian C. Potter
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Age And Growth ◽  
Growth Effect ◽  
Parameter Estimates ◽  
Rate Variation ◽  
Fish Length ◽  
Correlated Errors ◽  
Otolith Growth ◽  
Positive Dependence ◽  
Otolith Size

Curves describing the length–otolith size relationships for juveniles and adults of six fish species with widely differing biological characteristics were fitted simultaneously to fish length and otolith size at age, assuming that deviations from those curves are correlated rather than independent. The trajectories of the somatic and otolith growth curves throughout life, which reflect changing ratios of somatic to otolith growth rates, varied markedly among species and resulted in differing trends in the relationships formed between fish and otolith size. Correlations between deviations from predicted values were always positive. Dependence of length on otolith growth rate (i.e., “growth effect”) and “correlated errors in variables” introduce bias into parameter estimates obtained from regressions describing the allometric relationships between fish lengths and otolith sizes. The approach taken in this study to describe somatic and otolith growth accounted for both of these effects and that of age to produce more reliable determinations of the length–otolith size relationships used for back-calculation and assumed when drawing inferences from sclerochronological studies.

Thermoregulatory behaviour in cod: Is the thermal preference in free-ranging adult Atlantic cod affected by food abundance?

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (9) ◽  
pp. 1515-1527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Björnsson
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Data Storage ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Fat Reserves ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Thermoregulatory Behaviour

This study supports the hypothesis that well-fed cod (Gadus morhua) seek higher temperatures to increase growth rate, and poorly fed cod select lower temperatures to save metabolic energy. Depth and temperature of free-ranging adult cod (44–79 cm) were studied with data storage tags as part of a ranching project in an Icelandic fjord. Forage fish were regularly provided at four feeding stations where cod formed distinct “herds” (herd cod) that did not mingle much with the rest of the unconditioned cod in the fjord (wild cod). Several parameters (stomach fullness, liver index (fat reserves), condition factor, and growth rate) indicated that food intake was much greater in herd cod than in wild cod. In August, when the thermocline was well established, the herd cod remained in shallow (15–35 m) and warm water (8–10 °C), whereas the wild cod stayed in deep (80–90 m) and cold water (3–4 °C), but occasionally both groups explored depths and temperatures outside their preferred range. After vertical mixing in autumn when thermoregulation was not possible, the depth difference between the two groups decreased significantly.

scholarly journals DNA HETEROZYGOSITY AND GROWTH RATE IN THE ATLANTIC COD GADUS MORHUA (L)

Evolution ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 915-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant H. Pogson ◽  
Svein Erik Fevolden
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod

Influence of growth and survival costs of reproduction on Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, population growth rate

1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 1612-1623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A Hutchings
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Environmental Stochasticity ◽  
Individual Growth ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Individual Growth Rate ◽  
Age Structured ◽  
Reproductive Rates

A stochastic, age-structured life history model was used to examine how age at maturity (theta), pre- (Zimm) and postreproductive (Zmat) mortality, and postreproductive growth rate can affect maximum reproductive rates of fish at low population size. Simulations suggest that annual (r) and per-generation (R0) metrics of population growth for Newfoundland's northern Grand Bank Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, are primarily influenced by changes to mortality prior to and following reproduction. At observed weights at age and Zmat = 0.2, r ranged between 0.135 and 0.164 for cod maturing at between 4 and 7 years. Incremental increases in either Zimm or Zmat of 0.1 were associated with 0.03-0.05 reductions in r. To effect similar reductions, individual growth rate would have to decline by approximately one half. At observed weights at age, increases in Zmat from 0.20 to 0.45 increased the probability of negative per-generation growth from 3 to 26% for cod maturing at 4 years and from 6 to 46% for cod maturing at 7 years. Thus, even in the absence of fishing mortality, little or no population growth by Atlantic cod may not be unexpected in the presence of environmental stochasticity, particularly when accompanied by increases in mortality and declining individual growth.

Time series bias in the estimation of density-dependent mortality in stock-recruitment models

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ransom A. Myers ◽  
N. J. Barrowman
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Large Time ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Model Misspecification ◽  
Parameter Estimates ◽  
Density Dependent Mortality ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
Iteroparous Species ◽  
The Relationship

Large biases can occur in parameter estimates for stock–recruitment models because the stock sizes are not chosen independently, being correlated with variability in recruitment. We examine the importance of this "time series bias" by a comprehensive analysis of available stock–recruitment data and the use of simulations. For semelparous species, i.e., species that reproduce only once, time series bias is important for all populations for which we had data. For iteroparous species, i.e., species that reproduce more than once, large biases occur if the populations are exploited at close to the maximum that is biologically possible. Notably, when there is autocorrelation in natural mortality, for univoltine species, the direction of bias is reversed due to model misspecification. Given moderate sample sizes and moderate levels of exploitation, time series bias is small for species such as Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), for which α, the slope of the relationship between recruitment and number of spawners as the number of spawners goes to zero, is large. Time series bias will usually be important in species such as hakes (Merluccius) for which α appears to be relatively small.

scholarly journals Progress in determining southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis) target strength: results of swimbladder modelling

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 952-955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J. Dunford ◽  
Gavin J. Macaulay
Keyword(s):  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Stock Assessment ◽  
Laser Scanner ◽  
Fork Length ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Target Strength ◽  
Fish Length ◽  
Angle Distribution ◽  
Blue Whiting ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Southern blue whiting target strength (TS) results from Kirchhoff modelling of swimbladder casts scanned using a hand-held 3D laser scanner are presented. The data are compared with the relationship between TS and fish length used for New Zealand stock-assessment surveys; TS = 21.8 log10(fork length) − 72.8, at 38 kHz. This relationship has its origins in the relationship used for blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) in the northern hemisphere, and is based on measurements on juvenile cod (Gadus morhua). The results indicate that the blue whiting relationship is not appropriate for southern blue whiting, and suggest a much steeper slope, with TS = 38 log10(fork length) − 97, at 38 kHz. Sensitivity analyses indicate that further investigations of swimbladder tilt-angle distribution and swimbladder volume are unlikely to provide evidence to support the use of the blue whiting relationship for southern blue whiting.

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