Juveniles recruitment and daily growth of the southern stock of Mugil liza (Actinopterygii; Fam. Mugilidae): new evidence for the current life-history model

Abstract

Mugil liza is distributed along the western Atlantic coast. It is a commercially exploited species in Argentina, supporting a small-scale fishery conducted by an artisanal fleet. Age determination of fishes constitutes an important key issue for fishery management. The age, growth and recruitment of M. liza juveniles in Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon and Las Brusquitas creek (Buenos Aires, Argentina), were estimated by means of the analysis of the sagittal otoliths of fish collected during January to December of 2014. Ages were estimated by counting and measuring daily growth increments in otoliths under a light microscope. A total of 735 specimens ranging from 19 to 71.5 mm SL and from 67 to 212 days age was analysed. Lengths at previous ages were determined by back-calculation, a linear growth model was fitted to the back-calculated data: SL = 0.2468 + 2.0516; R2 = 0.9945. Two peaks of recruiters were observed from February to March, and from October to November in 2014. Mean ages in days of Querimana and juveniles at the recruitment time were 84.07 ± 14.43 days and 87.56 ± 19.51 days, respectively. The hatching dates of specimens showed two spawning seasons. One was from December 2013 to January 2014, and the second one from July to August 2014. The assessment carried on this work generated age determination values that support previous findings, contributing to make a more accurate description of the life-history model currently used. In addition, valuable information has been generated to give better advice for improving the management of the fishery resource.

Coastal zone use and migratory behaviour of the southern population of Mugil liza in Brazil

“…Mugil liza eggs and larvae are neustonic, but before recruitment to the estuarine environment, juveniles under 30 mm L T temporarily occupy surf zones (Rodrigues et al ., ; Vieira, ). This surf zone life stage, which may last for over a year, gives juveniles under 30 mm L T a better opportunity to enter estuaries, where growth and survival may be improved (Castellini et al ., ; Oliveira et al ., , ; Rodrigues et al ., ; Vieira, ).…”

“…This surf zone life stage, which may last for over a year, gives juveniles under 30 mm L T a better opportunity to enter estuaries, where growth and survival may be improved (Castellini et al, 2017;Oliveira et al, 2014Oliveira et al, , 2018Rodrigues et al, 2015;Vieira, 1991).…”

Application of UV-cured resin as embedding/mounting media for practical, time-saving otolith specimen preparation

“…The incremental, patterned deposition of materials on the otolith surface can be visually recognized as “annual” and “daily” rings whose identification provides information on an individual’s age in years or even in days and therefore can be used to clarify its year or even date of birth (Tsukamoto et al, 1989; Fowler, 1990). Likewise, the width of the daily and annual increments provides information on the amount of somatic growth during a particular day or period in life (Jones, 1992; Castellini et al, 2017; Watai et al, 2017). On the other hand, the chemical composition of the daily increments is affected by the physiological status of the fish and by the surrounding habitat’s abiotic conditions such as water chemistry and temperature (Radtke, 1989; Campana, 1999; Secor and Rooker, 2000).…”

A Novel, Efficient Method for Otolith Specimen Preparation Using UV‐Cured Resins

“…The incremental, patterned deposition of materials on the otolith surface can be visually recognized as "annual" and "daily" rings whose identification provides information on an individual's age in years or even in days and therefore can be used to clarify its year or even date of birth (Tsukamoto et al 1989;Fowler 1990). Likewise, the width of the daily and annual increments provides information on the amount of somatic growth during a particular day or period in life (Jones 1992;Castellini et al 2017;Watai et al 2017). On the other hand, the chemical composition of the daily increments is affected by the physiological status of the fish and by the surrounding habitat's abiotic conditions such as water chemistry and temperature (Radtke 1989;Campana 1999;Secor and Rooker 2000;Loher et al 2008).…”

“…Likewise, the width of the daily and annual increments provides information on the amount of somatic growth during a particular day or period in life (Jones 1992; Castellini et al. 2017; Watai et al. 2017).…”