Age, growth and reproductive biology of the saddled seabream (Oblada melanura) in the North Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean

This study determines the length distribution, length–weight relationship, age, growth parameters, mortality rate, sex ratios, length at first maturity and reproduction of saddled seabream (Oblada melanura) collected monthly by fishermen around the Northern Aegean Sea between November 2017 and October 2018. The length–weight relationship was calculated as W = 0.0091 × L^3.11 (R² = 0.95) and positive allometric growth was found. The condition factor and GSI varied between 0.81–1.58 and 0.01–9.61, respectively. The spawning season extended from May to July and peaked in June. Total lengths at 50% maturity were 18.97 cm for males and 18.83 cm for females. Parameters of the von Bertalanffy growth equation were: L∞ = 29.91 cm, K = 0.27 per year, t0 = −0.82 year and age varied between 1 and 8. The instantaneous rates of total mortality (Z) and natural mortality (M) were 1.36 and 0.58 per year, respectively. Rates for fishing mortality F and exploitation E were 0.78 and 0.57 per year, respectively. The mean absolute fecundity (F) was 117 075 ± 23 243 oocytes, ranging from 19 130 to 470 132.

References

Akyol, O., Kara, A. & Sağlam, C. (2014). Maximum size of saddled bream, Oblada melanura (Linnaeus, 1758) (Osteichthyes: Sparidae), in the southern Aegean Sea, Turkey. J. Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment. 20: 270–273.
Bagenal, T.B. (1978). Aspects of Fish Fecundity. In S.D. Gerking (Ed.), Ecology of Freshwater Fish Production (pp. 75–101). Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.
Bauchot, M.L. & Hureau, J.C. (1986). Sparidae. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.L. Bauchot, J.C. Hureau, J. Nielsen & E. Tortonese (Eds.), Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean (pp. 883–907). Paris: UNESCO.
Bauchot, M.L. & Hureau, J.C. (1990). Sparidae. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post & L. Saldanha (Eds.), Check-List of the Fishes of the Eastern Tropical Atlantic Clofeta 11 (pp.790–812) . Paris: UNESCO.
Bilge, G., Yapıcı, S., Filiz, H. & Cerim, H. (2014). Weight-length relations for 103 fish species from the southern Aegean Sea, Turkey. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 44: 263–269. DOI: 10.3750/AIP2014.44.3.11.
Bingel, F. (2002). Identification of Fish Populations. Icel: Baki Press.
Borges, T.C., Olim, S. & Erzini, K. (2003). Weight-length relationships for fish species discarded in commercial fisheries of the Algarve (southern Portugal). Journal of Applied Ichthyology 19: 394–396.  DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0426.2003.00480.x.
Buxton, C.D. & Garratt, P.A. (1990). Alternative reproductive styles in seabreams (Pisces: Sparidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 28: 113–124. DOI: 10.1007/BF00751031.
Can, M.F., Bassuta, N. & Cekic, M. (2002). Weight-length relationships for selected fish species of the small scale fisheries off the South Coast of Iskenderun Bay. Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences 26: 1181–1183.
Cavallaro, G., Cefali, A., Potoschi, A. & Sotiriaidis, S. (1985). Aspetti della biologia di Oblada melanura (L. 1758) (Pisces: Sparidae). Memorie Di Biologia Marina E Di Oceanografia 15: 129–140.
Cefali, A., Cavallaro, G., Sotiriaidis, S., Pestipino, S.G. & Cammaroto, S. (1987). Ulteriore contributo allo studio dell'accresimento di Oblada melanura (L., 1758). Memorie Di Biologia Marina E Di Oceanografia 16: 79–90.
Cengiz, O. (2013). Length–weight relationships of 22 fish species from the Gallipoli Peninsula and Dardanelles (northeastern Mediterranean, Turkey). Turkish Journal of Zoology 37: 419–422. DOI: 10.3906/zoo-1209-30.
Cetinic, P., Soldo, A., Dulcic, J., Pallaoro, A. (2002). Specific method of fishing for Sparidae species in the eastern Adriatic. Fisheries Research 55: 131–139. DOI: 10.1016/S0165-7836(01)00299-5.
Crechriou, R., Neveu, R. & Lenfant, P. (2012). Length–weight relationship of main commercial fishes from the French Catalancoast. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 28: 861–862. DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0426.2012.02030.x.
Cushing, D.H. (1981). Fisheries biology: a study in population Dynamics, 2nd ed. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
D'Ancona, U. (1949b). Gonad differentiation and sex reversal in sparids. Archive Oceanograpy Limnology 6: 97–163.
Dulcic, J., Skakelja, N., Kraljevic, M. & Cetinic, P. (1998). On the fecundity of the Black Sea bream, Spondyliosoma cantharus (L.), from the Adriatic Sea (Croatian coast). Scienta Marina 62: 289–294. DOI: 10.3989/scimar.1998.62n3289.
Gibson, R.N. & Ezzi, I.A. (1980). The biology of the scaldfish, Arnoglossus laterna (Walbaum) on the west coast of Scotland. Journal of Fish Biology 17: 565–576. DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1980.tb02788.x.
Gonçalves, J.M.S., Bentes, L., Lino, P.G., Ribeiro, J., Carkrio, A.V.M. et al. (1997). Weight-length relationships for selected fish species of the small-scale demersal fisheries of the south and south-west coast of Portugal. Fisheries Research 30: 253–256. DOI: 10.1016/S0165-7836(96)00569-3.
Gonçalves, J.M.S. & Erzini, K. (2000). The reproductive biology of the two banded sea bream Diplodus vulgaris from thesouthwest coast of Portugal. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 16: 110–116. DOI: 10.1046/j.1439-0426.2000.00232.x.
Gordo, L.S. (1996). On the fecundity of the bogue, Boops boops (L., 1758), from the Portuguese coast. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 12: 27–30. DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0426.1996.tb00055.x.
Guerra, B.E., Perez, E.Q. & Gonzalez-Jimenez, J.F. (1993). Características reproductivas de la chopa, Spondyliosoma cantharus (Linnaeus, 1758) del Banco Sahariano. Boletín Instituto Español De Oceanografia 9: 185–201.
Harmelin-Vivien, M.L., Harmelin, J.G. & Leboulleux, V. (1995). Microhabitat requirements for settlement of juvenile sparid fishes on Mediterranean rocky shores. In G. Balvay (Ed.), Space Partition within Aquatic Ecosystems. Developments in Hydrobiology. Dordrecht: Springer.
Holden, M.J. & Raitt, D.F.S. (Eds). (1974). Manual of Fisheries Science. Part 2-Methods of resource investigation and their application. FAO Fisheries Technical Reports.
Karachle, P.K. & Stergiou, K.I. (2008). Length-length and length-weight relationships of several fish species from the North Aegean Sea (Greece). Journal of Biological Research-Thessaloniki 10: 149–157.
Karakulak, F.S., Erk, H. & Bilgin, B. (2006). Length–weight relationships for 47 coastal fish species from the northern Aegean Sea, Turkey. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 22: 274–278. DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0426.2006.00736.x.
King, M. (1995). Reproduction and recruitment. In M. King (Ed.), Fisheries biology, assessment and management (pp. 151–165). Oxford: Fishing New Books.
Mahmoud, H.H. (2010). Age growth and mortality of saddled bream, Oblada melanura (Linnaeus, 1758) in Abu Qir Bay, Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 36: 317–322.
Olsen, E.M., Heino, M., Lilly, G.R., Morgan, M.J., Brattey, J. et al. (2004). Maturation trends indicativeof rapid evolution preceded the collapse of northern cod. Nature 428: 932–935. DOI: 10.1038/nature02430.
Pallaoro, A. (1996). Dinamika populacija, ribarstveni znac Ïaj i zas Ïtita us Ïate, Oblada melanura (Linnaeus, 1758) duz Ï istoc Ïne obale Jadranskog mora. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Zagreb, Crotia.
Pallaoro, A., Cetinic, P., Dulcic, J., Jardas, I. & Kraljevic, M. (1998). Biological parameters of the saddled bream Oblada melanura in the eastern Adriatic. Fisheries Research 38: 199–205. DOI: 10.1016/S0165-7836(98)00120-9.
Pallaoro, A., Santic, M. & Jardas, I. (2003). Feeding habits of the saddled bream, Oblada melanura (Sparidae), in the Adriatic Sea. Cybium 27: 261–268.
Pallaoro, A., Santic, M. & Jardas, I. (2004). Diet composition of young-of-the-year saddled bream, Oblada melanura (Linnaeus,1758) from the eastern central Adriatic Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 20: 228–230. DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0426.2004.00528.x.
Pauly, D. (1980). On the interrelationships between natural mortality, growth parameters and mean environmental temperature in 175 fish stocks. ICES Journal of Marine Sciences 39(2): 175–192. DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/39.2.175.
Pauly, D. (1984). Fish population dynamics in tropical waters: a manual for use with programmable calculators. Manilla: ICLARM.
Rafalah, F. & El-Mor, M. (2018). Some aspects of the reproductive biology of the saddled seabream Oblada melanura (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Benghazi coast – Eastern Libya. Al Azhar Bulletin of Science 29: 61–68.
Reinboth, R. (1962). Morphologische and funktionelle Zweigeschlechtlichkeit bei marinen Teleostiern (Serranidae, Sparidae, Centracanthidae, Labridae). Allgemeine Zoologie und Physiologie der Tiere 69: 405–480.
Ricker, W.E. (1975). Computation and interpretation of biological statistics of fish populations. Bulletin of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 191: 1–382. DOI: 10.2307/3800109.
Stergiou, K.I. (2000). Life-history patterns of fishes in the Hellenic Seas. Web Ecology 1: 1–10. DOI: 10.5194/we-1-1-2000.
Subakan, G., Öztekin, A., Daban, I.B. & Ayaz, A. (2017). Selectivity of some fish species caught as bycatch by bogue gillnets around North Aegean Sea. Ege Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 34: 103–110. DOI: 10.12714/egejfas.2017.34.1.14.
Taieb, A.H., Ghorbel, M., Hamida, N.B.H. & Jarboui, O. (2012). Reproductive biology of Diplodus vulgaris (Teleostei, Sparidae) in the southern Tunisian waters (Central Mediterranean). Acta Adriatica 53: 437–446.
Taylan, B. & Bayhan, B. (2015). On the fecundity of the bogue Boops boops (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Turkish Aegean Sea. Journal of Coastal Medicine 3: 589–591. DOI: 10.12980/JCLM.3.2015J5-39.
Turkoglu, M. (2010). Temporal variations of surface phytoplankton, nutrients and chlorophyll a in the Dardanelles (Turkish Straits System): a coastal station sample in weekly time intervals. Turkish Journal of Biology 34: 319–333. DOI: 10.3906/biy-0810-17.
Zei, M. & Zupanovio, S. (1961). Contribution to the sexual cycle and sex reversal of Pagellus erythrinus L. Rapp Reunions Common. Int. Explor. Scient. MerMediterranean. 16: 263–267.