Global patterns and clines in the growth of common carp Cyprinus carpio

Abstract

This review provides a meta-analytical assessment of the global patterns and clines in the growth of Cyprinus carpio as measured by length-at-age (L ) or von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF) parameters, mass-length relationship (W-L ) and condition factor, based on literature data. In total, 284 studies were retrieved spanning 91 years of research and carried out on 381 waterbodies-locations in 50 countries in all five continents. Although native C. carpio achieved larger (asymptotic) size relative to its non-native counterpart, the latter grew faster during the first 7 years of life. Lentic populations (especially in natural lakes) also achieved larger sizes relative to lotic ones and the same was true for populations in cold and temperate v. arid climates. Unlike previous studies (on much more restricted datasets), only weak latitudinal clines in instantaneous growth rate, L at age 3 and mortality were observed globally and this was probably due to the presence of counter-gradient growth variation at all representative age classes (i.e. 1-10 years). Slightly negative allometry was revealed by the W-L and the related form factor tended to distinguish the more elongated and torpedo-shaped body typical of the wild form from the deeper body of feral-domesticated C. carpio. Existing population dynamics models for C. carpio will benefit from the comprehensive range of waterbody type × climate class-specific VBGF parameters provided in the present study; whereas, more studies are needed on the species' growth in tropical regions and to unravel the possibility of confounding effects on age estimation due to both historical and methodological reasons.

Age determination in common carp Cyprinus carpio: history, relative utility of ageing structures, precision and accuracy

“…Thus, the recommended (higher) CV threshold of 7.6% was retained given its metaanalytical foundation, although slight preference was given to the (lower and more conservative) APE threshold of 5%, which has been suggested as a ''reference point for many fishes of moderate longevity and reading complexity'' (Campana 2001, p. 224). In this respect, carp can effectively be categorised as a fish of moderate longevity (Vilizzi and Copp 2017), especially when compared to marine species, and the reading complexity of its ageing structures also match the above definition. Further, it is argued that the very strict 5% threshold value for the APE expected in some ageing laboratories (Morison et al 1998), whilst a solid indicator of the reproducibility of annulus counts, may by itself be biased by laboratory-specific protocols for annulus interpretation (hence, training of interpreters), which may differ from other laboratories (cf.…”

“…With regard to longevity, estimated ages of 35 (Bajer and Sorensen 2010) and 23 years (Brown et al 2003) have been reported for carp based on otolith sections, although the oldest (mark-recapture validated) age using this method has been up to 14 years ). On the other hand, published otolith-based age-growth data on carp have so far been limited to the 1-19 years old range (Vilizzi and Copp 2017), indicating the need for further research (especially regarding validation) into this ageing method. At the same time, references to exceptionally old carp, albeit occasionally encountered in the literature, have been so far mostly anecdotal and based on individuals reared in captivity (e.g.…”

“…Given the very large number of published studies on the age and growth of carp (Vilizzi and Copp 2017), it is remarkable that only a minor proportion of them has provided an evaluation of accuracy. Also, of the studies addressing accuracy, about three-quarters validated absolute age (i.e.…”

“…Regardless, the scale alone (Cazorla and Pizarro 2000;Colautti and Freyre 2001;Oyugi et al 2011) and the scale and operculum together (Tempero et al 2006) were recently used successfully in validated studies (Table 7). However, the populations of carp were in the former case 'short-lived' (1-7 years) and in the latter 'medium-lived' (1-12 years), and always in temperate climates (types Cfa and Cfb, Köppen-Geiger system) (note that the 'relative longevity' of these populations is gauged after Vilizzi and Copp 2017). Support for the hypothesis of successful annulus identification/counting was provided for the (nonlethal) dorsal spine and fin ray methods and for the (lethal) otolith and vertebra methods.…”

“…However, in many of its nonnative areas the carp is regarded as an invasive (pest) species, with documented and often severe adverse impacts on freshwater ecosystems . As one of the most studied freshwater fish species, both by historical and geographical extent, it is therefore not surprising that a vast amount of information has been generated on (amongst other ecological aspects) its age and growth (Vilizzi and Copp 2017). At the same time, population dynamics models have recently been developed for the management of carp in heavily-invaded regions of North America and Australasia (Brown and Walker 2004;Lechelt and Bajer 2016;Weber et al , 2016Koehn et al 2017).…”