Otolith age validation and growth-rate variation in flyingfish (Hirundichthys affinis) from the eastern Caribbean

Abstract

Abstract.A study of otolith aging and growth-rate variation in the flyingfish Hirundichthys affinis (Giinther) was conducted in the eastern Caribbean (10 -16 ~ 58-62 ~ in 1987Caribbean (10 -16 ~ 58-62 ~ in -1989. Daily otolith-increment formation was validated in laboratory-reared larvae, confirming the usefulness of otolith-increment counts for age determination of H. affinis juveniles (<150mm fork length, FL). A mark-recapture programme to validate increment formation in wild adults was unsuccessful due to tetracycline-linked mortality and insufficient tetracycline uptake in slow-growing adult otoliths. A von Bertalanffy growth curve fitted to juvenile size-at-age data gave preliminary growth-curve parameters of t o = 2.85 d and k = 0.00854 on a daily basis, with an asymptotic length, L~o , of 245 mm FL, for eastern Caribbean flyingfish.Juvenile growth rate in H. affinis is sensitive to spatial and temporal variation in temperature. Growth rates were higher where sea-surface temperatures were higher, and were higher for juveniles hatched in warmer months (April-July) than in colder months (NovemberMarch). Growth rates were also higher near islands than at more oceanic locations. Variation in juvenile growth rates may influence the spatial and temporal variation in spawning frequency observed in H. affinis.

Age validation, growth estimation and cohort dynamics of the bony flying fish Hirundichthys oxycephalus off eastern Taiwan

“…This view is supported by the empirically calculated asymptotic length of 241.16 mm (Pauly 1980) matching the maximum observed length of 229.1 mm for the wild fish collected in the present study. Similar results were found for the congeneric H. affinis from the eastern Caribbean Sea, but with a slightly higher growth rate of 0.00854 d −1 and a shorter asymptotic length of 245 mm (Oxenford et al 1994). …”

“…Validating the daily periodicity of the growth increments in otoliths has been attempted by using various methodologies for different otolith pairs for several species of flying fish. The growth increments in the sagitta were initially discarded because they are difficult to prepare (Oxenford et al 1994, Ichimaru 2005. The daily growth increments in the lapillus of Hirund ichthys affinis, H. oxycephalus, Cypselurus heteru rus doederleini and C. hiraii, and those in the asteriscus for unknown species of flying fish were validated by applying the fertilized-egg rearing method (Oxenford et al 1994, Yoneyama 2001, Ichimaru 2005.…”

“…The growth increments in the sagitta were initially discarded because they are difficult to prepare (Oxenford et al 1994, Ichimaru 2005. The daily growth increments in the lapillus of Hirund ichthys affinis, H. oxycephalus, Cypselurus heteru rus doederleini and C. hiraii, and those in the asteriscus for unknown species of flying fish were validated by applying the fertilized-egg rearing method (Oxenford et al 1994, Yoneyama 2001, Ichimaru 2005. Those studies mainly validated the ages of fish less than 60 d post-hatch.…”

“…Campana et al (1993) estimated the longevity of H. affinis by using sagitta Th 228 /Ra 228 radiometric dating. Oxenford et al (1994) studied the age and growth of H. affinis by analyzing the growth increments in the lapillus. Yoneyama (2001) used the asteriscus for determining the age of flying fish in the coastal waters off eastern Japan.…”

Growth rate responses of Missouri and Lower Yellowstone River fishes to a latitudinal gradient

“…Among these factors, water temperature is an influential component of growth in fish populations (Picard et al, 1993;Dutta, 1994;Oxenford et al, 1994;Radtke & Fey, 1996). Because there can be a large thermal gradient from higher to lower latitudes within the geographic range of any species, there is a potential for differences in growth rates among populations.…”