Marking fin spine of juvenile sturgeon (acipenseriformes: acipenseridae) using oxytetracycline and the comparing of growth performance

Abstract

This study aimed to describe and validate the formation of the rings in the spine of the pectoral fin and to determine the coherence of the OTC mark with the rings of three species of Caspian Sea sturgeon, the Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus), the Starry sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus) and Ship sturgeon (Acipenser nudiventris). Validation was achieved by comparing the total radius of the fin spine of fish of known age after one and two years of growth with the measured radius of the first and second rings in the zone. There was no overlap between the measured radius for the first year and the increase for the second. The Ship sturgeon showed the largest width of the second ring followed by the Persian sturgeon and Stellate sturgeon. The results indicate that the highest growth parameter belongs to the juvenile Ship sturgeon. This research showed that chemically marking the fin spines of juvenile Acipenseridae leads to unbiased estimates and contributes to the knowledge of the population dynamics of these species. The study found that the combination of the dial ring of the pectoral fin spine with growth validated the age estimation in juvenile sturgeon Ship, Persian, and Starry sturgeon.

Aliphatic hydrocarbons in fin spines of adult sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus) and their relationship with potentially toxic elements in the northern and southern regions of the Caspian Sea

“…These sturgeons are “protected species” so sacrificing animals to determine concentrations in muscle and other organs is not justified. The use of bone samples from the marginal pectoral fin is a validated and minimally harmful method for sturgeons, and is mainly used to determine their age and growth (Baremore 2014 ; Bakhshalizadeh et al 2021 ). In addition, several studies have reported that bone tissue is a good matrix to address the concentration of accumulative substances like toxic elements, since the concentrations obtained in this tissue are higher than those found in muscle tissue, and could be compared to those obtained in liver tissue (Edem et al 2009 ; Adeosun et al 2015 ).…”