Age and growth of three Odontesthes species from Southern Brazil (Atherinopsidae), with reference to phylogenetic constraints in their life-history

Abstract

The age and growth of three silverside species are described, and a discussion on possible phylogenetic constraints on life-history characteristics is presented. Samples were collected monthly between March 1992 and February 1993 in three freshwater coastal lakes. Standard length-total length (Ls-Lt) and weight-length (Wt-Lt) relationships studied showed interspecific differences in comparisons between juveniles and adults, males and females. Age was determined by scales. The three species presented a life-cycle duration of 4 to 5 years, with growth coefficients values (K) between 0.37 and 0.63, and asymptotic lengths between 211 and 257 mm. Some interspecific differences may be useful for distinguishing between species (sexual and life-stage related patterns in L s -L t and W t -L t ). The observed life-cycle ranges and maximum sizes were compared to those of other silversides and revealed a pattern coherent with available phylogenetic hypotheses at the supra-generic level, indicating that some lifehistory characteristics may be subject to phylogenetic constraints.Key words: life history, phylogeny, age, growth, Atherinopsidae. RESUMOIdade e crescimento de três espécies de Odontesthes (Atherinopsidae) do sul do Brasil, com observações sobre a relação entre filogenia e história de vida de peixes-rei Este estudo apresenta uma descrição das características de idade e crescimento de três espécies de Odontesthes, além de uma discussão sobre possíveis relações de características de história de vida com filogenia. Amostragens foram feitas mensalmente entre março/1992 e fevereiro/1993, em três lagoas costeiras do Rio Grande do Sul. As relações comprimento padrão-comprimento total (Ls-Lt) e peso-comprimento (Wt-Lt) revelaram diferenças interespecíficas nas comparações entre juvenis e adultos e entre machos e fêmeas. A idade foi determinada a partir das escamas. As três espécies apresentaram um ciclo de vida de 4 a 5 anos, com coeficientes de crescimento (K) entre 0,37 e 0,63 e comprimentos assintóticos entre 211 e 257 mm. A duração do ciclo de vida e os tamanhos máximos foram comparados com aqueles de outras espécies de Atheriniformes e revelaram um padrão coerente com as hipóteses filogenéticas disponíveis em nível supragenérico, indicando que certas características de história de vida estão relacionadas ao contexto filogenético.Palavras-chave: história de vida, filogenia, idade, crescimento, Atherinopsidae.

Biological traits and growth patterns of pejerreyOdontesthes argentinensis

“…In contrast, during the remaining months of the year, the species could be investing energy in growth. These observations indicate that the energy demands for reproduction necessitate a reallocation of the energy that would otherwise be used in somatic growth (Becker et al ., 2003).…”

Natural growth, otolith shape and diet analyses of Odontesthes nigricans Richardson (Atherinopsidae) from southern Patagonia

“…It was assumed that O. nigricans from Varela Bay has the same periodicity of band formation. These results agreed with previous growth studies in O. nigricans from lower latitudes (L opez, 2009) and in other atherinopsids where an annual periodicity in mark formation was also identified (Sverlij and Mestre Arceredillo, 1991;Becker et al, 2003;Llompart et al, 2013). The count of annual marks allowed identifying 7 year classes (0þ to 6þ) in Varela Bay and 6 year classes (0þ to 5þ) in Punta María, extending the previously estimated life span of the species in lower latitudes, which was from 4 to 6 years (L opez, 2009).…”

“…The count of annual marks allowed identifying 7 year classes (0þ to 6þ) in Varela Bay and 6 year classes (0þ to 5þ) in Punta María, extending the previously estimated life span of the species in lower latitudes, which was from 4 to 6 years (L opez, 2009). Nevertheless, these age ranges fell within the values registered for other atherinopsid species from South America (Sverlij and Mestre Arceredillo, 1991;Becker et al, 2003;Llompart et al, 2013). The von Bertalanffy growth model explained more than 95% of the growth pattern observed in O. nigricans.…”

“…Probably they are influenced by different environmental and ecological factors, such as temperature, mortality and food availability (Methot and Kramer, 1979;Campana and Jones, 1992;Oxenford et al, 1994) in both sites. The comparison of growth parameters obtained in this study with those reported by Sverlij and Mestre Arceredillo (1991), Becker et al (2003) and Llompart et al (2013) showed that the O. nigricans populations of Tierra del Fuego approached to the asymptotic length at lower speed. It is worth mentioning that a similar rate was found for O. nigricans in Golfo Nuevo, Argentine Sea (L opez, 2009).…”

Growth performance of three pejerrey genetic groups in intensive culture system

“…The alometric coefficient was higher than three for the three groups, similar to those of Colautti, Lenicov and Berasain (2006) for natural populations of O. bonariensis, and different from those found by Becker, Bruschi and Peret (2003). These authors analyzed the three Odontesthes species: Odontesthes bicudo, Odontesthes piquava and Odontesthes ledae, showing isometric growth for juvenile and adult animals, except for adults of O. piquava that showed negative allometric growth.…”