Observations On The Microstructure Of The Otoliths Of The Big-Eye Grunt, Brachydeuterus Auritus (Pisces Haemulidae)
Abstract
The microstructure of the otolith of the big-eye grunt, Brachydeiiterus aurittis has been studied using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique to elucidate its utility for age determination and growth studies of the species. The otolith lacks a hatching check, hence the embryonic phase cannot be clearly defined. Patterns of increment deposition that can be described as weekly, appear as prospective for ageing larger specimens, but they tended to be obscure in parts of the otolith. In otoliths of juvenile fish, the increments were readable from the nucleus to the edge, at least in the region of the sulcus, suggesting that such fish could be aged from counts of the increments.
Observations On The Microstructure Of The Otoliths Of The Big-Eye Grunt, Brachydeuterus Auritus (Pisces Haemulidae)
Size: 5MB
289 Downloads