Otolith microstructure analysis with OTC validation confirms age overestimation in Atlantic thread herring Opisthonema oglinum from north‐eastern Brazil

Abstract

The daily periodicity of micro-increments in the otoliths of Atlantic thread herring Opisthonema oglinum was demonstrated from juveniles injected with oxytetracycline and reared for up to 62 days. Micro-increments ranged from 26 to 358 in the overall sample. Von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF) using micro-increment counts were:. The otolith-based growth was corroborated using the L F frequency analysis. Observed lengths of increments were considered unsuitable for VBGF derivation, as no increase in size was obtained from them. Furthermore, the high percentage of unreadable otoliths suggests that increment analysis is unreliable for age estimation. Most growth occurs within the first year, differing from previous longevity estimates of 4-8 years. In contrast with published information, O. oglinum is a fast-growing and shortlived species.

Validation of daily microincrement deposition in otoliths of juvenile and adult Peruvian anchovy Engraulis ringens

“…14 cm standard length, L S ) was < 1 year old. Furthermore, a recent study of the Brazilian herring Opisthonema oglinum (LeSueur 1818) raised new questions about the longevity of small pelagic fishes (Lessa et al ., ). In this species, the life span historically has been estimated to range between 4 and 8 years, using readings of opaque and translucent bands in whole otoliths, but Lessa et al .…”

“…In the Gulf of Biscay study by Aldanondo et al (2011), the largest fish aged (c. 14 cm standard length, L S ) was < 1 year old. Furthermore, a recent study of the Brazilian herring Opisthonema oglinum (LeSueur 1818) raised new questions about the longevity of small pelagic fishes (Lessa et al, 2008). In this species, the life span historically has been estimated to range between 4 and 8 years, using readings of opaque and translucent bands in whole otoliths, but Lessa et al (2008) used daily microincrements to show that the highest proportion of growth occurred during the first year of life, reaching a maximum age of 14 months.…”

“…Furthermore, a recent study of the Brazilian herring Opisthonema oglinum (LeSueur 1818) raised new questions about the longevity of small pelagic fishes (Lessa et al, 2008). In this species, the life span historically has been estimated to range between 4 and 8 years, using readings of opaque and translucent bands in whole otoliths, but Lessa et al (2008) used daily microincrements to show that the highest proportion of growth occurred during the first year of life, reaching a maximum age of 14 months. Similar cases of overestimation of age resolved using daily microincrements have been reported for other clupeoids such as Sardinella aurita Valenciennes 1847 (Boeley et al, 1982) and Harengula jaguana Poey 1865 (Pierce et al, 2001).…”

Old timers from the Baltic Sea: Revisiting the population structure and maximum recorded age of ide Leuciscus idus

“…However, the same can happen with otoliths (Campana et al, 1990). Furthermore, one could also overestimate the age (Andrews et al, 2011;Lessa et al, 2008). This is highly possible when working with ide scales as we have observed numerous pseudo-annuli throughout the scale.…”

Baía de todos os santos: aspectos oceanográficos

“…As fêmeas tornam-se maduras entre 14 e 17 cm de comprimento furcal (Munroe e Nizinski, 2002). Apresenta crescimento rápido (k=1,2; L∞=33,7 cm de comprimento furcal) e tempo de vida curto, conforme estudo da espécie no litoral dos estados de Pernambuco e Ceará (Lessa et al, 2008). Alimentase de peixes e crustáceos (Figueiredo e Menezes, 1978).…”