Morphometrics Analysis of Sagitta Otolith in Pool Barb, Puntius sophore (Hamilton, 1822)

Abstract

Introduction The use of otolith morphometrics could prove to be a powerful tool in fish identification. The aim of the present study was to analyze the shape of the otolith in pool barb, Puntius sophore. Materials and Methods To accomplish the present study, samples of various sizes were collected from the Yamunanagar and from the Faridabad fish markets in Haryana, India. The sagitta otoliths were extracted by making a horizontal cut across the head of the fish. Results The independent t-test revealed no statistically significant difference between the values of otolith length and width of both the right and left otoliths (p > 0.05). Furthermore, various shape indexes, such as form factor (FF); circularity (C); rectangularity (REC), and aspect ratio (AR) were calculated, and the general shape of the otoliths of P. sophore was described as rectangular and less elongated. The otolith length (OL) was found to be positively correlated with the AR, whereas the FF was found to be negatively correlated with REC and C. The present study expresses the relationship between the total length (TL) and the head length (HL) of the fish with the OL and the otolith width (OW) by a linear regression model. The results depicted that the OL and the OW were linearly correlated to the TL and to the HL of the fish. Conclusion The present study also provides a better understanding in identification of fish stock.

Age and Growth of Red Porgy, Pagrus pagrus from the Island of Gökçeada, North Aegean Sea

“…Otolith morphology has proven to be a powerful tool in species discrimination of many teleost fishes (Rani et al, 2019;Volpedo & Echeverria, 2003). This paper investigates the relationship of fish TL and age with otolith morphometrics (OL and OW) by a power model and OM by linear regression.…”

Discriminant inter and intrapopulation variation in sagittal otolith shape and morphometry in Chelon ramada (Actinopterygii, Mugilidae) from the Boughrara and El Bibane lagoons in Tunisian waters

“…Moreover, variations in otolith microchemistry have been used to estimate spatiotemporal migration and feeding behaviour between species (Lord et al ., 2011). Therefore, information on the shape and morphometry of fish sagittal otolith has long been considered an appropriate method for studying population structure and stock assessment (Pothin et al ., 2006; Gonzalez-Salas and Lenfant, 2007; Duarte-Neto et al ., 2008; Rebaya et al ., 2016; Bose et al ., 2017; Mejri et al ., 2018, 2022a; Mahé et al ., 2019; Ben Labidi et al ., 2020a; Khedher et al ., 2021), species identification (Škeljo and Ferri, 2011; Bani et al ., 2013; Jawad et al ., 2018), assessment of age and growth (Cardinale et al ., 2004; Škeljo et al ., 2015), diet content (Lilliendahl and Solmundsson, 2006), ontogeny (Capoccioni et al ., 2011), spatiotemporal migration (Lord et al ., 2011), and fisheries science and management (Vasconcelos et al ., 2018; Rani et al ., 2019). As the morphological variation of sagittal otoliths is influenced by genetic factors (Vignon and Morat, 2010), external factors, including depth (Lombarte and Lleonart, 1993) and water temperature (Lombarte and Lleonart, 1993; Hüssy, 2008), salinity (Capoccioni et al ., 2011), and food supply (Gagliano and McCormick, 2004; Hüssy, 2008) also play a strong role in reshaping of otoliths (Vignon, 2012; Bremm and Schulz, 2014).…”