Have a personal or library account? Click to login
Otolith phenotypic analysis for the endemic Anatolian fish species, Caucasian bleak Alburnus escherichii Steindachner, 1897 (Teleostei, Leuciscidae), from Selevir Reservoir, Akarçay Basin, Turkey Cover

Otolith phenotypic analysis for the endemic Anatolian fish species, Caucasian bleak Alburnus escherichii Steindachner, 1897 (Teleostei, Leuciscidae), from Selevir Reservoir, Akarçay Basin, Turkey

Open Access
|Dec 2021

Abstract

Otolith phenotypic variability was analyzed in the Caucasian bleak (Alburnus escherichii) from the Selevir Reservoir in Turkey. Utricular (lapillus) and lagenar (asteriscus) otoliths were removed, while distinguishing between left and right otoliths. All otoliths were photographed on the distal (for asterisci) and dorsal surface (for lapilli) using a Leica DF295 digital camera. Otolith morphometrics were measured to the nearest 0.001 mm using Leica Imaging Software. Linear and nonlinear (power) models were applied to determine the relationships between otolith measurements and total length of fish individuals. Two length classes (Class I: 6.7–10.9 cm Lt; Class II: 11.0–15.0 cm Lt) were established to analyze the shape of otoliths. The Form Factor, Circularity, Roundness, Rectangularity, Aspect Ratio and Ellipticity were used to analyze the shape of otoliths. A standardized model was used to remove the effect of size on otolith measurements. Multivariate analysis was performed to detect differences in otolith shape variation. The results of discriminant function analysis showed that 79.9% of A. escherichii specimens were correctly classified by length classes. In this study, intraspecific variation of asteriscus and lapillus otoliths in A. escherichii is reported for the first time. The results of this study provide the first comprehensive data on otolith shape analysis and the relationship between otolith morphometrics and total length in the Caucasian bleak.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/oandhs-2021-0037 | Journal eISSN: 1897-3191 | Journal ISSN: 1730-413X
Language: English
Page range: 430 - 440
Submitted on: Mar 3, 2021
Accepted on: Apr 15, 2021
Published on: Dec 3, 2021
Published by: University of Gdańsk
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

© 2021 Melek Ozpicak, Semra Saygin, Savas Yilmaz, Nazmi Polat, published by University of Gdańsk
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.