Table 1
Five-point maturity scale (Holden and Raitt, 1974)
| Stage | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| I | Immature | Ovary and testis about 1/3 of the body cavity’s length. Ovaries pinkish, translucent; testis whitish. Ova not visible to naked eye. |
| II | Maturing virgin and recovering spent | Ovary and testis about 1/2 of the body cavity’s length. Ovary pinkish, translucent; testis whitish, more or less symmetrical. Ova not visible to naked eye. |
| III | Ripening | Ovary and testis is about 2/3 of the body cavity’s length. Ovary pinkish-yellow with granular appearance, testis whitish to creamy. No transparent or translucent ova visible. |
| IV | Ripe | Ovary and testis from 2/3 to full length of the body cavity. Ovary orange-pink with conspicuous superficial blood vessels. Large transparent, ripe ova visible. Testis whitish-creamy, soft. |
| V | Spent | Ovary and testis shrunken to about 1/2 of the body cavity’s length. Walls loose. Ovary may contain remnants of disintegrating opaque and ripe ova, darkened or translucent. Testis bloodshot and flabby. |
Table 2
Total length, total weight, Gonadosomatic Index values and sex ratio evaluation in the captured Syngnathus abaster female, male (with brood pouch, pregnant ones) and immature individuals. N: sample size; M: Mean; TL: total length in mm; W: weight in g; GSI: Gonadosomatic Index values; SD: Standard deviation) by seasons
| FEMALE | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasons | N | M TL ± SD (mm) | M W ± SD (g) | N | GSI (%) ± SD | ♀:♂ | |
| Autumn | 7 | 114.00 ± 10.03 | 0.63 ± 0.24 | 7 | 0.97 | 0.35 | |
| Winter | 8 | 111.00 ± 7.60 | 0.56 ± 0.20 | 8 | 3.07 | 1 | |
| Spring | 23 | 110.00 ± 8.40 | 0.83 ± 0.20 | 23 | 6.86 | 2.09 | |
| Summer | 56 | 113.00 ± 6.52 | 0.81 ± 0.12 | 56 | 6.54 | 1.40 | |
| Total (Range) | 94 | 111.50 ± 7.35 | 0.78 ± 0.18 | 94 | 5.88 | 0.84 | |
| MALES | |||||||
| Seasons | Male (Total) | Pregnant male | Male with brood pouch | ||||
| N | M TL ± SD (mm) | M W ± SD (g) | N | M TL ± SD | N | M TL ± SD | |
| Autumn | 20 | 105.00 ± 10.20 | 0.42 ± 0.12 | 3 | 107.7 ± 13.3 | 17 | 103.9 ± 9.92 |
| Winter | 8 | 109.00 ± 11.90 | 0.53 ± 0.20 | - | - | 8 | 79.18 ± 11.9 |
| Spring | 11 | 104.00 ± 8.70 | 0.78 ± 0.20 | 11 | 109.9 ± 8.22 | - | - |
| Summer | 40 | 113.00 ± 10.49 | 0.95 ± 0.32 | 35 | 114.1 ± 11.5 | 5 | 110.4 ± 6.73 |
| Total (Range) | 79 | 109.90 ± 11.08 | 0.76 ± 0.36 | 49 | 112.8 ± 11.02 | 30 | 106.3 ± 10.16 |
| IMMATURE | |||||||
| Seasons | N | M TL ± SD (mm) | M W ± SD (g) | ||||
| Autumn | 8 | 79.25 ± 6.56 | 0.11 ± 0.04 | ||||
| Winter | 4 | 81 | 0.10 | ||||
| Spring | 0 | - | - | ||||
| Summer | 0 | - | - | ||||
| Total (Range) | 12 | 79.8 ± 5.30 | 0.11 ± 0.03 | ||||
Table 3
Physicochemical characteristics of sea water
| Station 1 | Station 2 | Station 3 | Station 4 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | DO | S | T | DO | S | T | DO | S | T | DO | S | |
| Spring | 21.5 | 8.93 | 37.8 | 21.8 | 8.82 | 38.2 | 23.1 | 8.78 | 37.8 | 24.5 | 8.62 | 38.4 |
| Summer | 24.2 | 7.80 | 38.9 | 23.8 | 7.55 | 38.6 | 23.5 | 7.67 | 38.5 | 25.7 | 7.57 | 38.2 |
| Autumn | 18.6 | 9.13 | 38.1 | 18.6 | 9.40 | 37.7 | 18.2 | 9.36 | 38.4 | 18.5 | 9.10 | 38.8 |
| Winter | 15.5 | 10.31 | 37.5 | 16.1 | 10.12 | 34.3 | 15.3 | 10.11 | 34.2 | 17.2 | 10.9 | 38.2 |
T: Temperature (°C), DO: Dissolved oxygen (mg l–1), S: Salinity (PSU)
Table 4
Seasonal variation of GSI for female Syngnathus abaster during the period from April 2013 to March 2014, the Aegean Sea, Turkey
| ♀ | No. of fish | Min. | Max | Mean ± SD | 95% CI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower limit | Upper limit | |||||
| Autumn | 7 | 0.27 | 1.73 | 0.97 ± 0.19 | 0.50 | 1.43 |
| Winter | 8 | 1.95 | 4.70 | 3.01 ± 0.39 | 2.09 | 3.93 |
| Spring | 23 | 2.01 | 23.36 | 6.86 ±1.13 | 4.51 | 9.21 |
| Summer | 56 | 1.74 | 14.99 | 6.54 ± 0.40 | 5.73 | 7.35 |
CI - Confidence Interval
Figure 1
Mean GSI values of Syngnathus abaster over time
Figure 2
Frequency of mature males, mature females and juveniles in the samples in different seasons
Figure 3
Frequency of hydrated-oocyte carrying females (OCF), pregnant males (PM), and males with empty brood pouches (MEP) in different seasons and relationships with water temperature
Figure 4
Frequency of oocyte diameters in the female ovary (n = 56)
Figure 5
Total length-batch fecundity relationship in females
Figure 6
Relationship between the total length of males and the number of eggs carried
Figure 7
Different developmental stages in Syngnathus abaster; (A) brood pouch with eggs, (B–C) 7 days, (D) newborn head, (E) prelarvae; scale bars = 1 mm