Masoud ABEDI, Amir Houshang SHIVA, Hamid MOHAMMADI, Rokhsareh MALEKPOUR

Reproductive biology and age determination of Garra rufa Heckel, 1843 (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae) in central Iran

Some aspects of the reproductive biology of Garra rufa Heckel, 1843, a native cyprinid fish species from the Armand stream in Chaharmahal-o-Bakhtiari province, central Iran, were investigated by regular monthly collections throughout 1 year. A significant relationship between length and weight and the isometric growth pattern were observed in this fish. There were no significant differences in the total number of male and female specimens. The population of this cyprinid fish had a narrow age range of 0-4 years, and the maximum number of samples belonged to the age group of 2.01-3 years. Based on the patterns of gonadosomatic and Dobriyal indices, it was concluded that this fish population has a prolonged, active reproductive period, which is a type of adaptation by this population to environmental conditions. The average egg diameter was 0.67 mm; the highest diameters were seen in May and the lowest in November. The absolute and relative fecundity were 1179.6 and 109.4, respectively. There was a significant relationship between fecundity and fish size (total length and total weight), and also between absolute fecundity and gonad weight.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Key words: Garra, reproductive biology, age, fecundity, GSI, spawning, Iran

Reproductive biology and age determination of Garra rufa Heckel, 1843 (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae) in central Iran

Keywords:

Key words: Garra, reproductive biology, age, fecundity, GSI, spawning, Iran,

PDF

___

Appleford, P., Anderson, T.A. and Gooley, G.J. 1998. Reproductive cycle and gonadal development of Macquarie perch, Macquaria australasica Cuvier (Percichthyidae), in Lake Dartmouth and tributaries of the Murray-Darling Basin, Victoria, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 49: 163-169.
Bagenal, T.B. 1967. A short review of fish fecundity. In: The Biological Basis of Freshwater Fish Production (ed. S.D. Gerking), Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, pp. 89-111.
Bagenal, T.B. and Braum, E. 1978. Eggs and early life history. In: Methods for Assessment of Fish Production in Fresh Waters, IBP Handbook No. 3 (ed. T.B. Bagenal), Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 165-210.
Biswas, S.P. 1993. Manual of Methods in Fish Biology. South Asian Pub., New Delhi.
Biswas, S.P., Nasar, S.A.K. and Chatterjee, K. 1984. Inter and intraspecific comparisons of some aspects of the reproductive biology of the two carps, Labeo pangusia and Labeo dero. Archives of Biology (Bruxelles) 95: 11-27.
Coad, B.W. 1995. Freshwater fishes of Iran. Acta Scientarium Naturalium Academiae Scientarium Bohemicae 29: 1-164.
Davies, P.R., Hanyu, I., Furukawa, K. and Nomura, M. 1986. Effect of temperature and photoperiod on sexual maturation and spawning of the common carp. II. Induction of spawning by manipulating photoperiod and temperature. Aquaculture 52: 137-144.
De Silva, K.H.G.M. 1991. Population dynamics and production of the rocky stream-dwelling fish Garra ceylonensis (Cyprinidae) in Sri Lanka. Journal of Tropical Ecology 7: 289-303.
Dobriyal, A.K., Rautela, K.K. and Rautela, A.S. 1999. Invention of a new index for the determination of sexual maturity in fishes. Uttar Pradesh Journal of Zoology 19: 207-209.
Elliott, J.M. 1995. Fecundity and egg density in the redd for sea trout. Journal of Fish Biology 47: 893-901.
Erdoğan, O., Türkmen, M. and Yıldırım, A. 2002. Studies on the age, growth and reproduction characteristics of the chub, Leuciscus cephalus orientalis in Karasu River, Turkey. Turkish Journal of Zoology 26: 983-991.
Esmaeili, H.R. and Shiva, A.H. 2006. Reproductive biology of the Persian Tooth-carp, Aphanius persicus (Jenkins, 1910) (Cyprinodontidae) in southern Iran. Zoology in the Middle East 37: 39-46.
Fleming, I.A. and Gross, M.R. 1990. Latitudinal clines: a trade-off between egg number and size in Pacific salmon. Ecology 71: 1- 11.
Fowler, A.J., McLeay, L. and Short, D.A. 1999. Reproductive mode and spawning information based on gonad analysis for the King George whiting (Percoidei: Sillaginidae) from South Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 50: 1-14.
Hosseinzadeh, H., Soltani, M. and Dadvar, F. 2001. Reproductive biology of Sillago sihama in Persian Gulf. Iranian Scientific Fisheries Journal 10: 37-55.
Jonsson, N. and Jonsson, B. 1999. Trade-off between egg mass and egg number in brown trout. Journal of Fish Biology 55: 767- 783.
Koutrakis, E.T. and Tsikliras, A.C. 2003. Length-weight relationships of fishes from three northern Aegean estuarine systems (Greece). Journal of Applied Ichthyology 19: 258-260.
Krupp, F. and Schneider, W. 1989. The fishes of the Jordan River drainage basin and Azraq Oasis. In: Fauna of Saudi Arabia, Vol. 10, pp. 347-416.
Le Cren, E.D. 1951. The length-weight relationship and seasonal cycle in gonad weight and condition in the perch (Perca fluviatilis). Journal of Animal Ecology 20: 201-219.
Leonardos, I. and Sinis, A. 1998. Reproductive strategy of Aphanius fasciatus Nardo, 1827 (Pisces: Cyprinodontidae) in the Mesolongi and Etolikon lagoons (W. Greece). Fisheries Research 35: 171-181.
Marshall, B.E. 1979. Observations on the breeding biology of Sarotherodon macrochir Boulenger in Lake McIlwaine, Rhodesia. Journal of Fish Biology 14: 419-424.
Matsuyama, M., Adachi, S., Nagahama, Y. and Matsuura, S. 1988. Diurnal rhythm of oocyte development and plasma steroid hormone levels in the female red sea bream, Pagrus major, during the spawning season. Aquaculture 73: 359-372.
Miller, P.J. 1979. Adaptiveness and implications of small size teleosts. Zoology Society London, Symposium 44: 263-306.
Mills, C.A. 1991. Reproduction and life history. In: Cyprinid Fishes: Systematics, Biology and Exploitation (eds. I.J. Winfield and J.S. Nelson), London, Chapman and Hall, pp. 483-509.
Morato, T., Afonso, P., Lourinho, P., Nash, R.D.M. and Santos, R.S. 2003. Reproductive biology and recruitment of the white sea bream in the Azores. Journal of Fish Biology 63: 59-72.
Morita, K. and Takashima, Y. 1998. Effect of female size on fecundity and egg size in white-spotted char: Comparison between sea- run and resident forms. Journal of Fish Biology 53: 1140-1142.
Murphy, B.R. and Willis, D.W. 1996. Fisheries Techniques. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland.
Nelson, J.S. 2006. Fishes of the World, 4th edition. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Nikolsky, G.V. 1963. The Ecology of Fishes. Academic Press, New York.
Pauly, D. 1984. Fish population dynamics in tropical waters: a manual for use for programmable calculators. ICLARM Studies and Reviews 8: 325 pp.
Payne, A.I. and Collinson, R.I. 1983. A comparison of the biological characteristics of Sarotherodon aureus Steindacher with those of S. niloticus L. and other tilapia of the delta and lower Nile. Aquaculture 30: 335-351.
Ricker, W.E. 1979. Growth rates and models. In: Fish Physiology, Vol. VIII (eds. W.S. Hoar, D.J. Randall and J.R. Brett), Academic Press, London, pp. 677-743.
Rideout, R.M. and Burton, M.P.M. 2000. Peculiarities in ovarian structure leading to multiple-year delays in oogenesis and possible senescence in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Canadian Journal of Zoology 78: 1840-1844.
Rifflart, R., Marchand, F., Rivot, E. and Bagliniere, J.L. 2006. Scale reading validation for estimating age from tagged fish recapture in a brown trout (Salmo trutta) population. Fisheries Research 78: 380-384.
Robards, M.D., Piatt, J.F. and Rose, G.A. 1999. Maturation and fecundity and intertidal spawning of Pacific sand lance in the northern Gulf of Alaska. Journal of Fish Biology 54: 1050-1068.
Smith, B.B. and Walker, K.F. 2004. Spawning dynamics of common carp in the river Murray, South Australia, shown by macroscopic and histological staging of gonads. Journal of Fish Biology 64: 336-354.
Tandon, K.K. and Johal, M.S. 1996. Age and growth in Indian freshwater fishes. Narendra Publishing House, New Delhi.
Tesch, F.W. 1968. Age and growth. In: Methods for Assessment of Fish Production in Freshwater, IBP Handbook No. 3 (ed. T.B. Bagenal), Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 93-123.
Thorpe, J.E., Miles, M.S. and Keay, D.S. 1984. Developmental rate, fecundity and egg size in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. Aquaculture 43: 289-305.
Tomasini, J.A., Collart, D. and Quignard, J.P. 1996. Female reproductive biology of the sand smelt in brackish lagoons of southern France. Journal of Fish Biology 46: 594-612.
Tomkiewicz, J., Tybjerg, L. and Jespersen, A. 2003. Micro and macroscopic characteristics to stage gonadal maturation of female Baltic cod. Journal of Fish Biology 62: 253-275.
Türkmen, M., Haliloğlu, H.I., Erdoğan, O. and Yıldırım, A. 1999. The growth and reproduction characteristics of chub, Leuciscus cephalus orientalis living in the River Aras. Turkish Journal of Zoology 23: 355-364.
Winfield, I.J. and Nelson, J.S. 1991. Cyprinid Fishes: Systematics, Biology and Exploitation. Chapman and Hall, London.