Short-term decoupling of otolith and somatic growth induced by food level changes in postlarval Baltic sprat, Sprattus sprattus
Hannes Baumann A B , Myron A. Peck A and Jens-Peter Herrmann AA Institute of Hydrobiology and Fisheries Science, Olbersweg 24, 22767 Hamburg, Germany.
B Corresponding author. Email: hannes.baumann@uni-hamburg.de
Marine and Freshwater Research 56(5) 539-547 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF04140
Submitted: 12 July 2004 Accepted: 6 April 2005 Published: 21 July 2005
Abstract
We studied the effects of food level changes on otolith and somatic growth in postlarval Baltic sprat reared initially for a period of 11 days under zero, low, and ad libitum feeding conditions. During a subsequent 11 day period, feeding regimes were reversed in half of the low and ad libitum feeding treatments, and starved fish were re-fed ad libitum rations. Somatic growth rates under low and ad libitum food rations ranged between 0.15–0.22 mm day−1 and 0.48–0.63 mm day−1, respectively, and led to significant differences in length and weight between feeding regimes. Previously starved fish, however, grew only 0.25–0.28 mm day−1 under ad libitum conditions. During the first period, significant linear relationships were found for otolith v. length and v. weight growth across all treatments. After changing feeding regimes, increment widths failed to significantly predict somatic growth for 9 days, after which a significant relationship between otolith and somatic growth became re-established. Recent otolith growth was a good predictor of fish condition after the first, but not after the second period. The results suggest that perturbations in environmental conditions can temporarily decouple otolith from somatic growth in postlarval sprat, which needs to be considered in field studies.
Extra keywords: alizarin, feeding experiment, postlarval sprat.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Arne Malzahn, Daniel Stepputtis, Christoph Petereit, and Bastian Huwer, who were of great help during the field sampling. Sven Staecker, Joachim Luetke, Linda Holste, and Kornelia Paul are thanked for their most reliable support during the conduction of the experiment. Both anonymous referees provided constructive criticism that helped to improve the manuscript. The present study was funded by the GLOBEC-Germany programme (FKZ 03F0320E).
Ali, M. , Nicieza, A. , and Wootton, R. J. (2003). Compensatory growth in fishes: a response to growth depression. Fish and Fisheries 4, 147–190.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
García, A. , Cortés, D. , Ramírez, T. , Giráldez, A. , and Carpena, A. (2003). Contribution of larval growth rate variability to the recruitment of the Bay of Málaga anchovy (SW Mediterranean) during the 2000–2001 spawning season. Scientia Marina 67, 477–490.
Lapolla, A. E. (2001). Bay anchovy Anchoa mitchilli in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. II. Spawning season, hatch-date distribution and young-of-the-year growth. Marine Ecology Progress Series 217, 103–109.
Paperno, R. , Targett, T. E. , and Grecay, P. A. (1997). Daily growth increments in otoliths of juvenile weakfish, Cynoscion regalis: experimental assessment of changes in increment width with changes in feeding rate, growth rate, and condition factor. Fishery Bulletin 95, 521–529.
Sogard, S. (1997). Size-selective mortality in the juvenile stage of teleost fishes: A review. Bulletin of Marine Science 60, 1129–1157.
Wright, P. J. , Metcalfe, N. B. , and Thorpe, J. E. (1990). Otolith and somatic growth rates in Atlantic salmon parr, Salmo salar L: evidence against coupling. Journal of Fish Biology 36, 241–249.
