Effect of age, growth rate, and ontogeny on the otolith size – fish size relationship in bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, and the implications for back-calculation of size in fish early life history stages

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (9) ◽  
pp. 1909-1922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan A. Hare ◽  
Robert K. Cowen
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
Somatic Growth ◽  
Early Life History ◽  
Pomatomus Saltatrix ◽  
Fish Size ◽  
Life History Stages ◽  
Size Relationship ◽  
Back Calculation ◽  
Otolith Size

The otolith size – fish size relationship was examined in field-collected larval and pelagic juvenile bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix. The purpose was to evaluate the central assumption of proportional back-calculation techniques, namely that otolith and somatic growth are in constant proportion. Age-independent variability was found between otolith size and fish size that differed between ontogenetic stages. Stage-specific growth rate effects were also identified. Finally, the otolith size – fish size relationship changed at certain ontogenetic stage transitions. These effects, as well as others that have been found, are discussed with regard to the assumption of constant proportionality between otolith growth and fish growth. In light of this discussion, the overall validity of constant proportionality becomes suspect when applied to the early life history stages of fishes. Future work should take a longitudinal approach to the analysis of the relationship between otolith growth and somatic growth. In addition, regression and proportional methods should be modified to account for growth rate and ontogenetic effects. Finally, a relative size approach is presented that is appropriate in situations that require only relative measures of fish size. This relative size approach has several benefits and these are discussed in relation to other back-calculation procedures.

Somatic Growth Effects on the Otolith–Fish Size Relationship in Young Pond-reared Striped Bass, Morone saxatilis

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Secor ◽  
John Mark Dean
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Striped Bass ◽  
Somatic Growth ◽  
Morone Saxatilis ◽  
Fish Length ◽  
Fish Size ◽  
Somatic Growth Rate ◽  
Size Relationship ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Otolith Size

Somatic growth rate of pond-reared larval and juvenile striped bass, Morone saxatilis, influenced the relationship between otolith size and fish size. Slower growing groups of individuals had larger and heavier otoliths, relative to fish length, than did faster growing groups. Within each growth group, otolith and fish size were highly correlated. Daily increment formation was validated from 10 to 51 d after hatch. Significant interaction occurred between age and fish size effects on otolith size. We propose that otolith growth occurs by two interacting processes. Otoliths grow daily in an incremental manner which is independent of somatic growth. Growth also proceeds continuously within each daily cycle of increment deposition, probably in some proportion to daily somatic growth. Corollaries to the hypotheses are (1) somatic growth rate can influence the otolith–fish size relationship, (2) intraspecific variation in otolith scaling might be used to predict past differences in somatic growth rate, and (3) there is a biological rationale for the use of otolith size and fish size as predictors in age estimation.

Methods for estimating secondary production in marine Amphipoda

1981 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 1019-1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Wildish ◽  
D. Peer
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Production ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Sampling Bias ◽  
Early Life History ◽  
Life History Stages ◽  
Turnover Ratio ◽  
Back Calculation ◽  
Wet Weight ◽  
Annual Turnover

For the 1971 year-class of Pontoporeia femorata from St. Margaret's Bay, N.S., secondary production was 11.06–13.61 g wet weight/m2 and annual turnover ratio was 3.64–4.78 as measured by three methods. These included cohort summation of losses, integrated production from the Allen curve, and size frequency, or modified Hynes methods. Sampling bias against early life history stages of amphipods collected with sieve meshes [Formula: see text] can be corrected by back calculation from population data thus enabling cohort-based estimates of secondary production to be made.Key words: secondary production, annual turnover ratio, Pontoporeia femorata, Crustacea, Amphipoda

Comparison of techniques of back-calculation of growth and settlement marks from the otoliths of three species of Diplodus from the Mediterranean Sea

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 1291-1299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Vigliola ◽  
Mireille Harmelin-Vivien ◽  
Mark G Meekan
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Marked Change ◽  
Somatic Growth ◽  
Growth Curves ◽  
Increment Width ◽  
Back Calculation ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Size At Age ◽  
Settlement Mark

We developed a model of back-calculation of fish size from otoliths that could accommodate both changes in the relationship between otolith and somatic growth that occur through time and variation in growth rates among individuals. We used this model to back-calculate estimates of size and growth from otoliths of three species of Diplodus from the Mediterranean Sea. The outcomes of our model were compared with those of three other models and with growth curves estimated directly from populations of fish in the field. We found that our new model produced estimates of size-at-age that were closer to those observed in the field than the biological intercept, time-varying growth, and body proportional models. Comparison of profiles of increment width from otoliths of newly settled and juvenile Diplodus puntazzo and Diplodus vulgaris showed that these species formed a settlement mark, where increment width declined at settlement. In contrast, a settlement mark was not evident in the otoliths of Diplodus sargus. However, settlement of all species coincided with a sharp decline in somatic growth rate. Thus, growth rate may provide a means of estimating the timing of settlement in species that do not display a marked change in increment width.

scholarly journals Seeds and Seedlings in a Changing World: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis from High Altitude and High Latitude Ecosystems

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 768
Author(s):  
Jerónimo Vázquez-Ramírez ◽  
Susanna E. Venn
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
Seedling Establishment ◽  
Early Life History ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Life History Stages ◽  
Early Snowmelt

The early life-history stages of plants, such as germination and seedling establishment, depend on favorable environmental conditions. Changes in the environment at high altitude and high latitude regions, as a consequence of climate change, will significantly affect these life stages and may have profound effects on species recruitment and survival. Here, we synthesize the current knowledge of climate change effects on treeline, tundra, and alpine plants’ early life-history stages. We systematically searched the available literature on this subject up until February 2020 and recovered 835 potential articles that matched our search terms. From these, we found 39 studies that matched our selection criteria. We characterized the studies within our review and performed a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the extracted meta-data regarding the climatic effects likely to change in these regions, including projected warming, early snowmelt, changes in precipitation, nutrient availability and their effects on seed maturation, seed dormancy, germination, seedling emergence and seedling establishment. Although the studies showed high variability in their methods and studied species, the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the extracted data allowed us to detect existing patterns and knowledge gaps. For example, warming temperatures seemed to favor all studied life stages except seedling establishment, a decrease in precipitation had a strong negative effect on seed stages and, surprisingly, early snowmelt had a neutral effect on seed dormancy and germination but a positive effect on seedling establishment. For some of the studied life stages, data within the literature were too limited to identify a precise effect. There is still a need for investigations that increase our understanding of the climate change impacts on high altitude and high latitude plants’ reproductive processes, as this is crucial for plant conservation and evidence-based management of these environments. Finally, we make recommendations for further research based on the identified knowledge gaps.

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