Age, growth and reproduction of tub gurnard (Chelidonichthys lucerna L. 1758) in the Bay of Iskenderun in the eastern Mediterranean

Ismen A., Ismen P., Basusta N.

TURKISH JOURNAL OF VETERINARY & ANIMAL SCIENCES, cilt.28, sa.2, ss.289-295, 2004 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 28 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2004
  • Dergi Adı: TURKISH JOURNAL OF VETERINARY & ANIMAL SCIENCES
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.289-295
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Bay of Iskenderun, eastern Mediterranean, tub gurnard, age, growth, reproduction
  • Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The age composition, growth parameters, spawning season, sex ratio, length at first sexual maturity and fecundity of tub gurnard (Chelidonichthys lucerna) caught from the Bay of Iskenderun in the eastern Mediterranean Sea were investigated. Females and males made up 58.2% and 41.8%, respectively, of the particular population of the species. The total length of females ranged from 8.0 cm to 30.3 cm, and of males from 8.3 cm to 21.2 cm. The length (L) - weight (W) relationships for males and females were estimated as W = 0.0089*L-3 01 and W = 0.0095*L2-99, respectively. The age data derived from otolith readings were used to estimate the growth parameters of the von Bertalanffy equation. The estimated parameters were: Linfinity = 45.0 cm, K 0.221 and t(omicron), -0.581. The maximum age was 4 for females and 3 for males. The 1-year age group was dominant in both females and males. Males matured at a total length of 18 cm, while females matured at 20 cm. The monthly values of the gonadosomatic index indicated that spawning occurred mainly between December and May. The fecundity (F) - length relationship was logF = -2.512 + 5.58logL (r = 0. 94).