Weight–Length Relationship Analysis Revealing the Impacts of Multiple Factors on Body Shape of Fish in China

Abstract

The weight–length relationship (WLR) of fish is a crucial tool in fish biology research and has received extensive attention. However, fish growth is influenced by many factors, and the WLR also changes accordingly. Our aim was to investigate how fish body shape is affected by various factors by analyzing the existing parameters of the relationship between fish body length and weight. We analyzed 198,354 fish specimens belonging to 402 species of 82 families in China and investigated the change of fish body shape in the function of their ecology. Herbivorous fish tended to be shorter and fatter than carnivorous fish, and omnivorous fish fall somewhere in between. This difference could be due to variations in feeding habits and the availability of food sources. Additionally, fish living in lentic waters tended to have a shorter and fatter body shape compared to those living in lotic waters. This could be attributed to differences in swimming behavior in these environments. Furthermore, our results showed that the b value decreased as altitude increased, and fish tended to be thinner and longer due to lower oxygen and temperature levels in high-altitude waters. Overall, our study provides valuable insights into the WLR of fish and the impact of multiple factors on fish body shape.

Livelihood status of the fishing community of Mahakanadarawa reservoir in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

“…The negative allometric growth pattern, as manifested in Oreochromis niloticus within this freshwater system, prosaically suggests potential underlying constraints in their habitat, possibly related to nutritional or environmental stressors that intrinsically affect their growth (Sarkar 2018). This can be corroborated by the citation found in the synthesis of scientific literature where it was explicated that when the parameter 'b' in the length-weight relationship is less than 3, such a connotation implies that the fish do not accrue weight commensurately with length, henceforth leading to a more elongated and consequently slender frame as they progress through their growth trajectory, a pattern that was similarly observed across different studies and species, as remarked in the summaries provided in different literature (Dewiyanti et al 2020;Li et al 2023;Peña et al 2023;Xu et al 2023).…”

Age, Growth, and Mortality of Pontic Shad, Alosa immaculata Bennett, 1835, in the Danube River, Romania

“…On the contrary, some authors have noted a positive allometric growth pattern in Pontic shad (b = 3.435; b = 3.085; b = 3.134) [40,45]. However, the L-W relationship can be influenced by several factors, such as biological factors [46], the environmental temperature [47], geographic area [48], and even human activities [49].…”

Length-Weight Relationship and Condition Factors of Keudawah (Rasbora sp., Family: Danionidae) in the Krueng Lanca Flows of Nagan Raya Regency, Aceh, Indonesia

“…This research significantly contributes to the support of sustainable fisheries management endeavors. Biological data can assess the life history of fish species [18], analyze fish growth patterns, and approximate fish stocks in their natural habitat [19-21] [22].…”

“…Sampling was carried out starting from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Additionally, fish specimens were preserved with a 10% formalin solution to ensure long-term storage. The specimens were then transported to the laboratory and assessed for their length and weight using a vernier caliper with a precision of 0.01 mm and analytical scales with an accuracy of 0.01 g. Fish length-weight relationships were estimated referring [18] as follows:…”