Effect of Temperature on the Daily Increment Deposition in the Otoliths of European Sardine Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792) Larvae

Otolith microstructure analysis is a valuable tool to evaluate the relationship between larval age and growth and how it relates to environmental variability. Otolith growth and daily increment deposition were analyzed in sardine (Sardina pilchardus) larvae reared in the laboratory under different temperatures (13, 15, and 17 °C), with a diet rich in microalgae, rotifers, and copepods Acartia grani. The number and width of growth increments, first-check and otolith diameter were determined in the otoliths and then related to larval age and total length. At hatching, the sagittal otoliths consisted of a lenticular core with a diameter of 10.56 μm (±1.07 μm SD). Somatic growth increased with the increasing temperature and the growth rate of larvae reared at 13 and 15 °C was significantly lower than for larvae reared at 17 °C. At 17 °C, otoliths exhibited a higher diameter with wider increments than at 13 °C. There was a high variability of increment counts-at-age for larvae reared within the same temperature treatment. The increase of growth increments with larval size was higher for larvae reared at 17 °C until 35 days post-hatching than those growing at 15 °C. Scanning electronic microscopy confirmed that increments are deposited daily, with an average width smaller than 1 µm and as low as 0.33 μm, therefore impossible to distinguish using light microscopy. At colder temperatures, larval otoliths had thinner and less marked increments and lower growth rates, which can lead to incorrect age determinations. The effect of temperature on the otolith microstructure can help in identifying strong temperature gradients experienced by wild sardine larvae.

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Effect of food availability on the growth and age determination of European sardine (Sardina pilchardus Walbaum, 1792) larvae

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315421000497 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Susana Garrido ◽

Susana Ferreira ◽

Claudia Soares ◽

Isabel Meneses ◽

Nuria Baylina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Variability ◽

Stock Assessment ◽

Larval Growth ◽

Age Determination ◽

Age And Growth ◽

Vital Rates ◽

Sardina Pilchardus ◽

Feeding Rates ◽

Growth Increments ◽

Daily Deposition

Abstract Accurate assessment of age and growth of fish is essential to understand population dynamics, namely for age-structured stock assessment and for determining vital rates of fish (e.g. age at sexual maturity) and their relationship with environmental variability. To validate the daily deposition in the otoliths of European sardine (Sardina pilchardus) larvae, these were reared with a range of food densities translating into feeding rates extending from less than required for maintenance to saturated feeding levels. When exogenous feeding began, a high variability in the relationship between number of growth increments (GI) and elapsed days after hatching (dph) was observed, irrespective of the feeding treatment. GI counts using a light microscope were less than one per day for larvae <15 dph (ranging from 0.17–0.43 GI day−1) and similar for larvae reared with different food concentrations. The rate of GI count vs age was significantly higher for larvae older than 15 dph. GI count from 3–30 dph was lower than one per day (0.45–0.75 GI day−1 95% CI) for fed larvae 3–30 dph. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed the daily deposition of GI and revealed some increment widths around 0.2 μm, particularly during the first week post-hatch. Otoliths of wild sardine larvae exhibited narrow GI (<0.5 μm) comparable with reared larvae. This study demonstrates that during the first weeks after hatch the daily increment deposition is underestimated using traditional light microscopy, which must be taken into account in future works determining wild sardine larval growth.

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Age and growth of Ceratoscopelus warmingii (Myctophidae) in the South China Sea based on sagittal otolith microstructure

Marine Biology Research ◽

10.1080/17451000.2021.2015390 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Jun Zhang ◽

Yan Wang ◽

Zuozhi Chen ◽

Yane Jiang ◽

Shannan Xu

Keyword(s):

South China Sea ◽

South China ◽

The South China Sea ◽

Age And Growth ◽

Otolith Microstructure ◽

The South ◽

China Sea ◽

Sagittal Otolith

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Potential sources of bias in the climate sensitivities of fish otolith biochronologies

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/cjfas-2019-0450 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 77 (9) ◽

pp. 1552-1563

Author(s):

Szymon Smoliński ◽

John Morrongiello ◽

Peter van der Sleen ◽

Bryan A. Black ◽

Steven E. Campana

Keyword(s):

Environmental Effect ◽

Growth Response ◽

Environmental Variability ◽

Mixed Effects ◽

Mixed Effects Models ◽

Careful Study ◽

Growth Increments ◽

Growth Variation ◽

Response To Environmental Change ◽

Fish Otoliths

Analysis of growth increments in the hard parts of animals (e.g., fish otoliths) can be used to assess how organisms respond to variability in environmental conditions. In this study, mixed-effects models were applied to otolith data simulated for two hypothetical fish populations with assumed biological parameters and known growth response to environmental variability. Our objective was to assess the sensitivity of environment–growth relationships derived from otolith biochronologies when challenged with a range of realistic ageing errors and sampling regimes. We found that the development of a robust biochronology and the precision of environmental effect estimates can be seriously hampered by insufficient sample size. Moreover, the introduction of even moderate ageing error into the data can cause substantial underestimation of environmental sources of growth variation. This underestimation diminished our capacity to correctly quantify the known environment–growth relationship and more generally will lead to overly conservative conclusions concerning the growth response to environmental change. Careful study design, reduction of ageing errors, and large sample sizes are critical prerequisites if robust inferences are to be made from biochronological data.

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Age and growth of Myctophum asperum in the South China Sea based on otolith microstructure analysis

Deep Sea Research Part II Topical Studies in Oceanography ◽

10.1016/j.dsr2.2018.07.004 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 167 ◽

pp. 121-127 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yan Wang ◽

Jun Zhang ◽

Zuozhi Chen ◽

Yane Jiang ◽

Shannan Xu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South China Sea ◽

South China ◽

The South China Sea ◽

Microstructure Analysis ◽

Age And Growth ◽

Otolith Microstructure ◽

The South ◽

China Sea ◽

Otolith Microstructure Analysis

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Age and growth of the narrow-barred Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson Lacepede, 1880) in North-eastern Queensland waters

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf9921269 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 43 (5) ◽

pp. 1269 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

GR McPherson

Keyword(s):

Growth Parameters ◽

Age And Growth ◽

Differential Growth ◽

Daily Growth ◽

Spanish Mackerel ◽

Growth Increments ◽

Scomberomorus Commerson ◽

North Eastern ◽

Marginal Increment ◽

Age Estimates

Whole otoliths were used to age Scomberomorus commerson in tropical Australian waters. Age estimates were validated by marginal-increment analysis of the first three otolith annuli. Confirmation of age estimates was provided by otolith daily growth increments and tag returns of known age. Differential growth in length, weight and longevity was evident between the sexes. The oldest male was 10 years old (127 cm FL, 19.0 kg). The oldest female was 14 years old (155 cm FL, 35 kg). The von Bertalanffy growth parameters L∞ and K were 127.5 cm and 0.25 for males and 155.0 cm and 0.17 for females.

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Otolith microstructure, age and growth of two species of Ceratoscopelus (Oosteichthyes: Myctophidae) from the eastern North Atlantic

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology ◽

10.1016/0022-0981(93)90033-k ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 167 (2) ◽

pp. 237-260 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Tomasz B. Linkowski ◽

Richard L. Radtke ◽

Petra H. Lenz

Keyword(s):

North Atlantic ◽

Age And Growth ◽

Otolith Microstructure ◽

Eastern North Atlantic

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Growth rates of four Hawaiian deep slope fishes: a comparison of methods for estimating age and growth from otolith microincrement widths

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f96-245 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 54 (1) ◽

pp. 126-136 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

H A Williams ◽

M K Lowe

Keyword(s):

Growth Rates ◽

Growth Curves ◽

Age And Growth ◽

Interval Length ◽

Fish Length ◽

Comparison Of Methods ◽

Increment Width ◽

Daily Increment ◽

Minimum Number ◽

Age Estimates

Two methods were used to estimate the age and growth of four Hawaiian deep slope fishes. Otolith daily increment width estimates from radial sections of sagittal otoliths were integrated over the otolith radius to approximate age by (i) dividing interval length (micrometres) by mean increment width (micrometres per day) and summing this quotient for consecutive 500- µm radial intervals (S. Ralston and H.A. Williams. 1989. Fish. Bull. 87: 1-16) and (ii) fitting increment width (y) versus otolith radius (x) to a Gompertz rate curve and calculating the inverse integral of this curve (M.K. Smith and E. Kostlan. 1991. Fish. Bull. 89: 461-472). The methods also differ in the way the age-length key is generated. Ralston and Williams' method uses integrated age versus a regression-based estimate of fish length at 500- µm otolith radial intervals; Smith and Kostlan's method uses estimated age versus actual fish length. Neither method of integration produced significantly different age estimates; however, the use of regression-based fish length estimates instead of sampled fish lengths resulted in significant differences between estimated growth curves. The minimum number of daily increment width estimates required as a function of otolith radius was calculated, on the basis of observed microincrement width variation.

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