A holistic approach to the age validation of Mullus barbatus L., 1758 in the Southern Adriatic Sea (Central Mediterranean)

Carbonara, Pierluigi; Intini, Simona; Kolitari, Jerina; Joksimović, Aleksandar; Milone, Nicoletta; Lembo, Giuseppe; Casciaro, Loredana; Bitetto, Isabella; Zupa, Walter; Spedicato, María Teresa; Sión, Letizia

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-30872-1

Cited by 21 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…able calcified structures for red mullet ageing (ICES 2012). Moreover, the growth studies based on indirect methods (length frequency distribution analysis) provided a faster growth pattern than the analysis based on direct age analysis from otolith and scale reading (Carbonara et al 2018). The uncertainties linked to age analysis are also hampered by the lack of direct (e.g.…”

Section: Análisis Exploratorio De Los Datos De Determinación De Edad mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The impact of age analysis uncertainties on the stock assessment of red mullet can be significant, since the identification of the first growth ring (ICES 2012) can lead to the over-/underestimation of one or more year in age (Vrantzas et al 1992, Sieli et al 2011. In general, the growth of this species follows a biphasic pattern: it is high in the first year, reaching about a third of the maximum size, and once it has reached the size at the first maturity, there is a significant decrease in the growth rate (Fiorentino et al 1998, 2013, Carbonara et al 2018.…”

Section: Análisis Exploratorio De Los Datos De Determinación De Edad mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All these issues can result in high red mullet ageing differences (ICES 2017a). While reviewing age data on this species published during the last decade, Carbonara et al (2018) observed an impressively varying average length at the first year, ranging between 7.54 and 18.93 cm. This high variability is difficult to justify through only the geographical and/or genetic differences (Matić-Skoko et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Explorative analysis on red mullet (<em>Mullus barbatus</em>) ageing data variability in the Mediterranean

Carbonara¹,

Zupa²,

Anastasopoulou

et al. 2020

Sci. Mar.

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The uncertainty in age estimation by otolith reading may be at the root of the large variability in red mullet (Mullus barbatus) growth models in the Mediterranean. In the MEDITS survey, red mullet age data are produced following the same sampling protocol and otolith reading methodology. However, ageing is assigned using different interpretation schemes, including variations in theoretical birthdate and number of false rings considered, in addition to differences in the experience level of readers. The present work analysed the influence of these variations and the geographical location of sampling on red mullet ageing using a multivariate approach (principal component analysis). Reader experience was the most important parameter correlated with the variability. The number of rings considered false showed a significant effect on the variability in the first age groups but had less influence on the older ones. The effect of the theoretical birthdate was low in all age groups. Geographical location had a significant influence, with longitude showing greater effects than latitude. In light of these results, workshops, exchanges and the adoption of a common ageing protocol based on age validation studies are considered fundamental tools for improving precision in red mullet ageing.

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Section: Análisis Exploratorio De Los Datos De Determinación De Edad mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Análisis Exploratorio De Los Datos De Determinación De Edad mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Explorative analysis on red mullet (<em>Mullus barbatus</em>) ageing data variability in the Mediterranean

Carbonara¹,

Zupa²,

Anastasopoulou

et al. 2020

Sci. Mar.

Self Cite

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“…However, many the most commercially important fish species living in the Mediterranean Sea do not have clearly distinguished growth patterns in their otoliths, which presents a challenge for this type of research. For example, it is still difficult to determine the growth boundaries for the first growth increments in otoliths of Mullus barbatus due slow growth and number of false-growth increments laid down before the annulus (Carbonara et al, 2018) and of Merluccius merluccius due to the fast growth (de Pontual et al, 2003;Piñeiro et al, 2007;Mellon-Duval et al, 2010) and long spawning period of the species (Morales-Nin and Aldebert, 1997) although a number of direct methods to validate age assessment were used, like mark-recapture (de Pontual et al, 2003;Mellon-Duval et al, 2010), first ring appearance (Belcari et al, 2006), or bomb radiocarbon dating (Vitale et al, 2016).…”

Section: Opportunities For Otolith Chemistry Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish and Sclerochronology Research in the Mediterranean: Challenges and Opportunities for Reconstructing Environmental Changes

et al. 2020

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Over the past two decades, the field of sclerochronology has been rapidly developing, with scientists devoting significant efforts to studying the physical and chemical variations in hard tissues of aquatic organisms. Most of this research has been limited to certain taxa and geographic areas. Although growth increments in fish otoliths are used for sclerochronology purposes, relatively little has been done in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the literature, the chemical composition of otoliths from Mediterranean fish species has primarily been used for analyzing migration patterns, habitat use, and population structure of commercially important fish species. To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies on fish growth chronology construction conducted in the Mediterranean Sea. In order to identify the opportunities for sclerochronology research on fish from the Mediterranean, we used FishBase to identify potential candidate species with a sufficiently long lifespan and clearly defined growth increments for growth chronology construction and otolith chemistry research. We also present the challenges and limitations for sclerochronology research, including: (i) very few fish species in the Mediterranean Sea have a longevity of several decades; (ii) issues associated with reliable age determination for certain long-lived fish species; (iii) a general lack of understanding and effort to constructed and manage otolith collections; and (iv) limitations imposed by the availability of funding, expertise, and instrumentation. Despite these challenges, fish sclerochronology research has strong potential in the Mediterranean and adjacent seas. Recent studies in the Adriatic Sea have resulted in the construction of bivalve chronologies and the geochemical analysis of shells, providing important time-series data for comparative analysis and a multispecies approach. Furthermore, studies conducted in other parts of the world have demonstrated great potential for the use of fish otoliths in monitoring environmental variability and the effects of pollutants and disturbance.

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“…The use of combined information from different sources (fishery dependent or not) into a single holistic approach to corroborate or validate the annulus formation was already tested on different fish species, e.g. for Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) 21 and for red mullet (Mullus barbatus) 22 , as well as for both wild and reared anchovy in the waters of the Bay of Biscay 14,23,24 . The habitat conditions of the Bay of Biscay are characterized by higher riverine input nutrients and higher productivity 25 compared to the oligotrophic Mediterranean waters 26,27 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

First annulus formation in the European anchovy; a two-stage approach for robust validation

Basilone

Barra

Ferreri

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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the age determination in fast-growing short-living species, such as european anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), has been widely recognized as a difficult task and bias introduced by readers leads to bias in reconstructing the population age structure. in this context, it is worth to note that age structure of fish population represents key information in fishery ecology and for stock assessment models. The uncertainty in estimating the age of the European anchovy by otolith reading is linked to the number of false-growth increments (checks) laid down before the annulus formation. While direct validation methods (e.g. mark-recapture, rearing, radiochemical dating) are difficult to implement specially for this short living species, the use of different indirect methods, supported by a coherent statistical approach, represents a robust and easier validation tool. A statistical modeling approach has been here adopted to assess the coherence of two well-known methods, namely Edge Analysis and Marginal Increment Analysis, in order to validate the first annulus formation in European anchovy. Both methodologies in two different yearly cycles converged toward the same result, thus confirming the annulus identification for the first year class. In addition, the completion dates of the checks and the first annulus were computed in order to gain a better insight into otolith growth dynamic. According to the species spawning period, the completion date of the first annulus falls in the summer period, while the first and second checks completion dates were mostly found in summer and winter respectively. General additive models using marginal increments as dependent variable showed a significant effect of the month, highlighting the presence of only one clear minimum in July/August, as well as specific relationships with condition factor and gonadosomatic index. Modeling the otolith edge morphology, the probability to find a hyaline band displayed in both years a similar shape, characterized by a minimum in July/August and higher values between november and January. the obtained results evidenced temporally coherent patterns providing a better insight in the otolith growth dynamic as well as a more robust validation of the first annulus formation in the European anchovy. Otolith annual growth increments, composed of alternating opaque and translucent zones, are commonly used to determine the age of fishes since 1899 1. However, counting annuli was sometime misleading in estimating the age of tropical or deep-sea adult fishes, mainly due to a more stable environment leading to more constant growth, thus resulting in less certain annulus formation 2. Erroneous age estimates can negatively affect management of marine resources, since several biological variables such as growth-rate, mortality rate and productivity are obtained by the age structure of the population 3-5. Age determination in short living species, such as anchovies, is further complicated because of the predominance of young fishes (0, 1 or 2 years old), which often ...

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A holistic approach to the age validation of Mullus barbatus L., 1758 in the Southern Adriatic Sea (Central Mediterranean)

Cited by 21 publications

References 24 publications

Explorative analysis on red mullet (<em>Mullus barbatus</em>) ageing data variability in the Mediterranean

Explorative analysis on red mullet (<em>Mullus barbatus</em>) ageing data variability in the Mediterranean

Fish and Sclerochronology Research in the Mediterranean: Challenges and Opportunities for Reconstructing Environmental Changes

First annulus formation in the European anchovy; a two-stage approach for robust validation

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