Growth of juvenile Coral Reef Damselfish: Spatial and Temporal variability, and the effect of population density

1992 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 1129 ◽  
Author(s):  
CR Pitcher
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Natural Variation ◽  
Juvenile Fish ◽  
Fish Growth ◽  
Detectable Effect ◽  
Fish Length ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Juvenile Coral ◽  
Close Relationship

The growth rate of juvenile damselfish (Pornacentrus nagasakiensis) was estimated by daily ageing, using otoliths, and constructing length-at-age curves or, due to a close relationship between otolith radius and fish length, back-calculating the growth rates of individual fish. The growth of juvenile P. nagasakiensis was not detectably affected by population density, whether naturally established or manipulated. In one experiment, the presence of early recruits had no detectable effect on the growth of subsequent recruits, and postsettlement growth rates even increased slightly with subsequent pulses of settlement through the first half of the summer (as water temperature increased). However, in other (nonexperimental) samples, there may have been an interaction between prior recruitment and falling temperature that reduced growth rates. The rate of growth differed among habitats, but not in proportion to the densities established at settlement-as might be expected if preference for habitats conferring better growth had evolved. The growth of juvenile fish from different reefs within and between different regions of the Great Barrier Reef also showed some significant differences. In all analyses of variance, the residual natural variation accounted for most of the sums-of-squares, highlighting the great plasticity of fish growth.

scholarly journals Natural variation in social conditions affects male mate choosiness in the amphipod Gammarus roeselii

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konrad Lipkowski ◽  
Sophie Steigerwald ◽  
Lisa M Schulte ◽  
Carolin Sommer-Trembo ◽  
Jonas Jourdan
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Natural Variation ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Male Mate

Abstract The extent of male mate choosiness is driven by a trade-off between various environmental factors associated with the costs of mate acquisition, quality assessment and opportunity costs. Our knowledge about natural variation in male mate choosiness across different populations of the same species, however, remains limited. In this study, we compared male mate choosiness across 10 natural populations of the freshwater amphipod Gammarus roeselii (Gervais 1835), a species with overall high male mating investments, and evaluated the relative influence of population density and sex ratio (both affecting mate availability) on male mate choosiness. We investigated amplexus establishment after separating mating pairs and presenting focal males with a novel, size-matched female from the same population. Our analysis revealed considerable effects of sex ratio and (to a lesser extent) population density on time until amplexus establishment (choosiness). Male amphipods are able to perceive variable social conditions (e.g., sex ratio) and modify their mating strategy accordingly: We found choosiness to be reduced in increasingly male-biased populations, whereas selectivity increases when sex ratio becomes female biased. With this, our study expands our limited knowledge on natural variations in male mate choosiness and illustrates the importance of sex ratio (i.e., level of competition) for male mating decisions in natural environments. Accounting for variation in sex ratios, therefore, allows envisioning a distinctive variation of choosiness in natural populations and highlights the importance of considering social background information in future behavioral studies.

scholarly journals Managed Wetlands Can Benefit Juvenile Chinook Salmon in a Tidal Marsh

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole M. Aha ◽  
Peter B. Moyle ◽  
Nann A. Fangue ◽  
Andrew L. Rypel ◽  
John R. Durand
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽  
Nursery Habitat ◽  
San Francisco Estuary ◽  
Rice Fields ◽  
Fish Growth ◽  
Juvenile Chinook Salmon ◽  
Juvenile Chinook

AbstractLoss of estuarine and coastal habitats worldwide has reduced nursery habitat and function for diverse fishes, including juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Underutilized off-channel habitats such as flooded rice fields and managed ponds present opportunities for improving rearing conditions and increasing habitat diversity along migratory corridors. While experiments in rice fields have shown enhanced growth rates of juvenile fishes, managed ponds are less studied. To evaluate the potential of these ponds as a nursery habitat, juvenile Chinook salmon (~ 2.8 g, 63 mm FL) were reared in cages in four contrasting locations within Suisun Marsh, a large wetland in the San Francisco Estuary. The locations included a natural tidal slough, a leveed tidal slough, and the inlet and outlet of a tidally muted managed pond established for waterfowl hunting. Fish growth rates differed significantly among locations, with the fastest growth occurring near the outlet in the managed pond. High zooplankton biomass at the managed pond outlet was the best correlate of salmon growth. Water temperatures in the managed pond were also cooler and less variable compared to sloughs, reducing thermal stress. The stress of low dissolved oxygen concentrations within the managed pond was likely mediated by high concentrations of zooplankton and favorable temperatures. Our findings suggest that muted tidal habitats in the San Francisco Estuary and elsewhere could be managed to promote growth and survival of juvenile salmon and other native fishes.

Retardation and Recovery of Growth in Brook Trout Fry (Salvelinus fontinalis) Exposed for Various Durations to Acidified Water

1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 2048-2050 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. Tam ◽  
P. D. Payson ◽  
R. J. J. Roy
Keyword(s):  
Growth Inhibition ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Brook Trout ◽  
Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽  
Low Ph ◽  
Fish Growth ◽  
Control Fish ◽  
Treated Fish ◽  
Test Fish ◽  
Neutral Water

Brook trout fry (Salvelinus fontinalis) were exposed to pH 4.66 for various durations up to 141 d and then returned to neutral water. Growth of test fish was in general significantly lower than that of control fish for exposures up to days 45–78. In four of six groups of acid-treated fish, growth eventually recovered and the growth rates were not different from that of control fish. The results suggested that growth inhibition was induced early in the exposure to sublethally low pH and that recovery in the latter phase of the experiment occurred whether pH remained acidic or was readjusted to neutral.

Predator–Prey Relationships for Juvenile Chinook Salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, Feeding on Zooplankton in "in situ" Enclosures

1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl K. English
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rates ◽  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽  
Fish Growth ◽  
Juvenile Salmon ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Juvenile Chinook Salmon ◽  
Successful Search ◽  
Juvenile Chinook

Juvenile chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, were raised in 90-m3 mesh enclosures in Saanich Inlet, B.C. The enclosures permitted ample water and zooplankton circulation while retaining 5–6 g juvenile salmon. Mean growth rate was 1.8% wet body weight/d over 6 wk. Weekly growth rates ranged from 3.9%/d while food was abundant, to −0.5%/d when food was scarce. Zooplankton concentration inside and outside enclosures without fish were not significantly different. Organisms associated with the sides of the enclosures (non-pelagic) were not a major contributor to the growth of the juvenile chinook. There was a strong relationship between the fish growth rates and the abundance of 1.4- to 4.5-mm zooplankton. Rates of successful search varied directly with the size and inherent contrast of a prey item. The minimum rate of successful search was 2.3 m3/h for salmon feeding on 1.4- to 4.5-mm zooplankton. This rate of successful search, while far greater than previously suspected, is still within the visual capabilities of the juvenile salmon. The enclosed salmon grew rapidly on zooplankton concentrations that were 1/1000 of those required to sustain similar growth rates in tank experiments.Key words: predator–prey relationship, planktivorous salmonid, marine, "in situ" enclosures, search efficiency

scholarly journals Decoupling of otolith and somatic growth during anadromous migration in a northern salmonid

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (11) ◽  
pp. 1940-1953 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christie M. Morrison ◽  
Mélodie Kunegel-Lion ◽  
Colin P. Gallagher ◽  
Rick J. Wastle ◽  
Ellen V. Lea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Somatic Growth ◽  
Fish Growth ◽  
Calcium Deposition ◽  
Fish Length ◽  
Length Relationship ◽  
Anadromous Migration ◽  
Back Calculation ◽  
Size At Age

We assessed the fish length – otolith length relationship (FL–OL) in Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma malma) to verify proportional growth. A decoupling was detected during first ocean migration where fish growth was occurring at a greater rate than otolith growth. Because of this decoupling, the application of traditional back-calculation models overestimated the size-at-age in premigratory char. We developed modified back-calculation equations from existing traditional models to account for this decoupling based on discontinuous piecewise regressions. The new biological intercept breakpoint method (BI–BP) provided the most accurate representation of fish size-at-age throughout all life history stages when compared with known size-at-capture values in fish. The decoupling indicates that factors other than somatic growth are important for otolith accretion. Physiological changes during smoltification likely alter calcium uptake and thereby affect calcium deposition rates on otoliths during this short but biologically critical time period of life history. It is probable that species exhibiting similar complex ontogenetic shifts in life history will likely exhibit decoupling to some extent in the FL–OL relationship.

scholarly journals Impact of Feed Rations on Growth, Selected Body Parameters and Maturation of Vendace, Coregonus Albula L., Reared in RAS

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-150
Author(s):  
Bożena Szczepkowska ◽  
Mirosław Szczepkowski ◽  
Iwona Piotrowska
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rates ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Fish Growth ◽  
Coregonus Albula ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
Intensive Rearing ◽  
Mature Fish ◽  
Final Survival ◽  
Body Parameters ◽  
Commercial Size

Abstract Vendace, Coregonus albula L., was reared to commercial size in a recirculating system. Three different feed rations were applied during the ten-month-long experiment. The feed rations impacted fish growth rates, and fish in the different groups achieved body weights of 26.6 g to 57.5 g. The final survival in all groups was similar from 44.3% among the fish fed the smallest feed ration to 53.2% in the group receiving the largest feed ration. No differences were noted in the share of viscera, peritoneal fat, or in the hepatosomatic indexes, but there were differences in the gonadosomatic indexes. After thermal stimulation, only males achieved sexual maturity. The number of mature fish was similar in all groups and ranged from 17.8 to 21.3% of all fish. The results of the present study indicated that vendace can achieve commercial size in an intensive rearing period of ten months in RAS.

Fish population size, and not density, as the determining factor of parasite infection: a case study

Parasitology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 128 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. BAGGE ◽  
R. POULIN ◽  
E. T. VALTONEN
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Fish Population ◽  
Host Population ◽  
Fish Length ◽  
Total Fish ◽  
Infection Parameters ◽  
The Mean

The diversity and abundance of parasites vary widely among populations of the same host species. These infection parameters are, to some extent, determined by characteristics of the host population or of its habitat. Recent studies have supported predictions derived from epidemiological models regarding the influence of host population density: parasite abundance and parasite species richness are expected to increase with increasing host population density, at least for directly transmitted parasites. Here, we test this prediction using a natural system in which populations of the crucian carp, Carassius carassius (L.), occur alone, with no other fish species, in a series of 9 isolated ponds in Finland. The ectoparasite communities in these fish populations consist of only 4 species of monogeneans (Dactylogyrus formosus, D. wegeneri, D. intermedius and Gyrodactylus carassii); the total and relative abundance of these 4 species varies among ponds, with one or two of the species missing from certain ponds. Across ponds, only one factor, total fish population size, explained a significant portion of the variance in both the mean number of monogenean species per fish and the mean total abundance of monogenean individual per fish. In contrast, fish population density did not influence either monogenean abundance or species richness, and neither did any of the other variables investigated (mean fish length per pond, number of fish examined per pond, distance to the nearest lake, and several water quality measures). In our system, proximity among fish individuals (i.e. host population density) may not be relevant to the proliferation of monogeneans; instead, the overall availability of host individuals in the host population appeared to be the main constraint limiting parasite population growth.

Variability in the growth, feeding and condition of barramundi (Lates calcarifer Bloch) in a northern Australian coastal river and impoundment

2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (10) ◽  
pp. 928 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Russell ◽  
F. E. Thomson ◽  
P. A. Thuesen ◽  
T. N. Power ◽  
R. J. Mayer
Keyword(s):  
Prey Species ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Juvenile Fish ◽  
Fish Growth ◽  
Lates Calcarifer ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Tropical Australia ◽  
Coastal River ◽  
Freshwater River ◽  
River Fish

Lates calcarifer supports important fisheries throughout tropical Australia. Community-driven fish stocking has resulted in the creation of impoundment fisheries and supplemental stocking of selected wild riverine populations. Using predominantly tag–recapture methods, condition assessment and stomach flushing techniques, this study compared the growth of stocked and wild L. calcarifer in a tropical Australian river (Johnstone River) and stocked fish in a nearby impoundment (Lake Tinaroo). Growth of L. calcarifer in the Johnstone River appeared resource-limited, with juvenile fish in its lower freshwater reaches feeding mainly on small aytid shrimp and limited quantities of fish. Growth was probably greatest in estuarine and coastal areas than in the lower freshwater river. Fish in Lake Tinaroo, where prey availability was greater, grew faster than either wild or stocked fish in the lower freshwater areas of the Johnstone River. Growth of L. calcarifer was highly seasonal with marked declines in the cooler months. This was reflected in both stomach fullness and the percentage of fish with empty stomachs but the condition of L. calcarifer was similar across most sites. In areas where food resources appear stretched, adverse effects on resident L. calcarifer populations and their attendant prey species should be minimised through cessation of, or more conservative, stocking practices.

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