Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Seasonal growth differences of larval Hyporhamphus picarti (Hemiramphidae) in the Sine Saloum estuary, Senegal

Seasonal growth differences of larval Hyporhamphus picarti (Hemiramphidae) in the Sine Saloum... The African halfbeak Hyporhamphus picarti (Hemiramphidae) is one of the most abundant species within the ichthyoplankton community of the Sine Saloum estuary (Senegal). A year‐round occurrence of larvae suggests that the Sine Saloum is an important spawning habitat for this species. Annual fluctuations in water temperature, however, can have severe impacts on the survival probabilities of marine fish larvae. To determine whether temperature has an effect on the growth of H. picarti during its larval development, larval age at length and somatic growth rates were investigated for two contrasting spawning seasons in 2014: February (cold season, 20.8°C) and June (warm season, 26.4°C). In both months H. picarti larvae were sampled at the mouth of the Saloum River using neuston nets. Sagittal otoliths’ increments were counted to estimate the larva age at a given standard length (SL). The age of larvae ranged between 2 and 22 days, with SL of 3.86–21.68 mm, respectively. In order to describe larval age at length during the contrasting spawning seasons, two distinctive Gompertz functions were applied. Accordingly, specimens sampled in June (0.94 ± 0.17 mm per day) exhibited significantly higher somatic growth rates than those sampled in February (0.60 ± 0.06 mm per day). These findings suggest that water temperature is an important factor influencing larval growth in H. picarti. Information concerning the early life stages of H. picarti are scarce and the results of the present study may contribute to a better understanding of the species’ biology and ecology. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Applied Ichthyology Wiley

Seasonal growth differences of larval Hyporhamphus picarti (Hemiramphidae) in the Sine Saloum estuary, Senegal

Download PDF
6 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/wiley/seasonal-growth-differences-of-larval-hyporhamphus-picarti-oof0adfI7g

References (40)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 Blackwell Verlag GmbH
ISSN
0175-8659
eISSN
1439-0426
DOI
10.1111/jai.13528
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The African halfbeak Hyporhamphus picarti (Hemiramphidae) is one of the most abundant species within the ichthyoplankton community of the Sine Saloum estuary (Senegal). A year‐round occurrence of larvae suggests that the Sine Saloum is an important spawning habitat for this species. Annual fluctuations in water temperature, however, can have severe impacts on the survival probabilities of marine fish larvae. To determine whether temperature has an effect on the growth of H. picarti during its larval development, larval age at length and somatic growth rates were investigated for two contrasting spawning seasons in 2014: February (cold season, 20.8°C) and June (warm season, 26.4°C). In both months H. picarti larvae were sampled at the mouth of the Saloum River using neuston nets. Sagittal otoliths’ increments were counted to estimate the larva age at a given standard length (SL). The age of larvae ranged between 2 and 22 days, with SL of 3.86–21.68 mm, respectively. In order to describe larval age at length during the contrasting spawning seasons, two distinctive Gompertz functions were applied. Accordingly, specimens sampled in June (0.94 ± 0.17 mm per day) exhibited significantly higher somatic growth rates than those sampled in February (0.60 ± 0.06 mm per day). These findings suggest that water temperature is an important factor influencing larval growth in H. picarti. Information concerning the early life stages of H. picarti are scarce and the results of the present study may contribute to a better understanding of the species’ biology and ecology.

Journal

Journal of Applied Ichthyology – Wiley

Published: Jan 1, 2018

Keywords: ; ; ; ;

There are no references for this article.