Stock-specific assessment of precise age and growth in the long-whiskered catfish Sperata aor from the Ganges River
Aafaq Nazir A and M. Afzal Khan
A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Section of Fishery Science and Aquaculture, Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202 002, UP, India.
B Corresponding author. Email: khanmafzal@yahoo.com
Marine and Freshwater Research 71(12) 1693-1701 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF19315
Submitted: 7 October 2019 Accepted: 21 February 2020 Published: 25 March 2020
Abstract
Sustainable management of the long-whiskered catfish Sperata aor (Hamilton, 1822) in the Ganges River justifies precise stock-specific information on age and growth. The aim of the present study was to estimate the age and growth of three stocks, namely Narora–Kanpur, Varanasi and Bhagalpur, of S. aor from the Ganges River. Among the hard structures chosen for analysis, vertebrae provided precise age estimates up to 9 years of age in all the three stocks of S. aor based on average percentage error. Edge analysis of vertebrae and marginal increment ratio analysis of sectioned otoliths showed annulus formation once per year during April–June. The von Bertalanffy growth rates showed significant differences between the sexes and among the stocks. The growth coefficient k (0.24–0.30 year–1) showed rapid growth relative to asymptotic length (L∞) in all three stocks. The growth performance index was nearly the same for all three stocks. The results of the present study can be used in formulating scientifically sound management policies in view of anthropogenic threats to the populations of S. aor from the Ganges River.
Additional keywords: age estimation, age validation, calcified structures, growth pattern, von Bertalanffy growth function.
References
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