Reproductive strategies in black scabbardfish (<i>Aphanopus carbo</i> Lowe, 1839) from the NE Atlantic

Ana Neves; Ana Rita Vieira; Inês Farias; Ivone Figueiredo; Vera Sequeira; Leonel Serrano Gordo

doi:10.3989/scimar.2009.73s2019

Authors

Ana Neves Departamento de Biologia Animal and Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa
Ana Rita Vieira Departamento de Biologia Animal and Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa
Inês Farias Unidade de Recursos Marinhos e Sustentabilidade, IPIMAR
Ivone Figueiredo Unidade de Recursos Marinhos e Sustentabilidade, IPIMAR
Vera Sequeira Departamento de Biologia Animal and Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa
Leonel Serrano Gordo Departamento de Biologia Animal and Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2009.73s2019

Keywords:

black scabbardfish, skipped spawning, fecundity, atresia, Portugal

Abstract

Gonads of the NE Atlantic black scabbardfish were examined to give an insight into the reproductive biology of this species. It was concluded that black scabbardfish had determinate fecundity because: (i) a distinct hiatus in oocyte size was observed between pre-vitellogenic and vitellogenic oocytes; (ii) vitellogenic oocytes increased in size during the spawning season; (iii) the number of vitellogenic oocytes did not increase during the spawning season; and (iv) the intensity of atresia was low in pre-spawning and spawning ovaries. Fecundity estimates ranged from 73 to 373 oocytes g^-1 female. Comparison of developing ovaries from mainland Portugal and Madeira revealed that those from Madeira were more advanced in development, with more cortical alveoli stage oocytes and a higher gonadosomatic index. Starting in July, the reproductive development of all females from mainland Portugal was interrupted by a generalised atresia of developing oocytes. Completion of gametogenesis and spawning only occurred for fish from Madeira but some fish from this area also failed to complete oocyte development due to mass follicular atresia of vitellogenic oocytes. The percentage of Madeiran fish that failed to spawn due to follicular atresia ranged from 21.2% in 2006 to 37.4% in 2005.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Anon. – 2000. Environment and biology of deep-water species Aphanopus carbo in the NEAtlantic: basis for its management (BASBLACK). Final Report of EUStudy Project 97/0084.

Begg, G.A. – 1998. Reproductive biology of school mackerel (Scomberomorus queenslandicus) and spotted mackerel (S. munroi) in Queensland east-coast waters. Mar. Freshw. Res., 49: 261-270. doi:10.1071/MF97187

Burton, M.P.M. – 1991. Induction and reversal of the non-reproductive state in winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus Walbaum, by manipulating food availability. J. Fish Biol., 39: 909-910. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.1991.tb04422.x

Burton, M.P.M. and D.R. Idler. – 1984. The reproductive cycle in winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus Walbaum. Can. J. Zool., 62: 2563-2567. doi:10.1139/z84-374

Burton, M.P.M., R.M. Penney and S. Biddiscombe. – 1997. Time course of gametogenesis in Northwest Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 54(Suppl. 1): 122-131. doi:10.1139/cjfas-54-S1-122

Carvalho, D. – 1988. Relatório final do estudo efectuado sobre o peixe-espada preto (Aphanopus carbo, Lowe, 1839) capturado na ZEEda Madeira. EC Report. DGXIV/CEDoc. No. XIV/B/1-1987, 177 p.

Cooper, D.W., K.E. Pearson and D.R. Gunderson. – 2005. Fecundity of shortspine thornyhead (Sebastolobus alascanus) and longspine thornyhead (S. altivelis) (Scorpaenidae) from the northeastern Pacific Ocean, determined by stereological and gravimetric techniques. Fish. Bull., 103: 15-22.

Ehrich, S. – 1983. On the occurrence of some fish species at the slopes of the Rockall Trough. Arch. Fischereiwiss., 33(3): 105-150.

Emerson, L.S., M. Greer Walker and P.R. Witthames. – 1990. A stereological method for estimating fecundity. J. Fish. Biol., 39: 721-730. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.1990.tb04326.x

Figueiredo, I., P. Bordalo-Machado, S. Reis, D. Sena-Carvalho, T. Blasdale, A. Newton and L.S. Gordo. – 2003. Observations on the reproductive cycle of the black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo Lowe, 1839) in the NEAtlantic. ICES J. Mar. Sci., 60: 774-779. doi:10.1016/S1054-3139(03)00064-X

Freitas, I. – 1998. Contribuição para o conhecimento da ecologia alimentar do peixe-espada preto, Aphanopus carbo Lowe, 1839 (Pisces: Trichiuridae), no arquipélago da Madeira. Relatório de estágio do curso de biologia, Universidade da Madeira.

Gordo, L.S., A. Costa, P. Abaunza, P. Lucio, A.T.G.W. Eltink and I. Figueiredo. – 2008. Determinate versus indeterminate fecundity in horse mackerel. Fish. Res., 89: 181-185. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2007.09.024

Gordo, L.S., D. Sena-Carvalho, I. Figueiredo, S. Reis, P. Bordalo-Machado, A. Newton and J. Gordon. – 2000. Escala de maturação sexual do peixe-espada preto: uma abordagem macro e microscópica. The sexual maturity scale of black scabbardfish: a macro- and microscopic approach. Celta Editora, Oeiras.

Gordon, J.D.M. – 1986. The fish populations of the Rockall Trough. Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh, 88B: 191-204.

Greer Walker, M., P.R. Witthames and J.I. Bautista de los Reis. – 1994. Is the fecundity of the Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) determinate? Sarsia, 79: 13-26.

Hunter, J.R. and B.J. Macewicz. – 1985. Rates of atresia in the ovary of the captive and wild northern anchovy Engraulis mordax. Fish. Bull., 83(2): 119-136.

Hunter, J.R., B.J. Macewicz and C.A. Kimbrell. – 1989. Fecundity and other aspects of the reproduction of sable fish, Anoplopoma fimbria, in Central California waters. Calif. Coop. Ocean. Fish. Invest. Rep., 30: 61-72.

Hunter, J.R., B.J. Macewicz, N.C.H. Lo and C.A. Kimbrell. – 1992. Fecundity, spawning and maturity of female Dover Sole, Microstomus pacificus, with an evaluation of assumptions and precision. Fish. Bull., 90: 101-128.

Jørgensen, C., B. Ernande, Ø. Fiksen and U. Dieckmann. – 2006. The logic of skipped spawning in fish. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 63: 200-211. doi:10.1139/f05-210

Kainge, P., O.S. Kjesbu, A. Thorsen and A.G. Salvanes. – 2007. Merluccius capensis spawn in Namibian waters, but do M. paradoxus? Afr. J. Mar. Sci., 29: 379-392. doi:10.2989/AJMS.2007.29.3.6.336

Kjesbu, O.S., P.R. Witthames, P. Solemdal and M. Greer Walker. – 1998. Temporal variations in the fecundity of Arcto-Norwegian cod (Gadus morhua) in response to natural changes in food and temperature. J. Sea Res., 40: 303-321. doi:10.1016/S1385-1101(98)00029-X

Kurita, Y., S. Meier and O.S. Kjesbu. – 2003. Oocyte growth and fecundity regulation by atresia of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) in relation to body condition throughout the maturation cycle. J. Sea Res., 49: 203-219. doi:10.1016/S1385-1101(03)00004-2

Magnússon, J.V. and J. Magnússon. – 1995. The distribution, relative abundance, and biology of the deep-sea fishes of the Icelandic slope and Reykjanes Ridge. In: A.G. Hopper (ed.), Deep-water fisheries of the North Atlantic oceanic slope, pp. 161-199. NATOASISer. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.

Marteinsdottir, G., A. Gudmundsdottir, V. Thorsteinson and G. Stefánsson. – 2000. Spatial variation in abundance, size composition and viable egg production of spawning cod (Gadus morhua L.) in Icelandic waters. ICES J. Mar. Sci., 57: 824-830. doi:10.1006/jmsc.2000.0568

Maucline, J. and J.D.M. Gordon. – 1984. Occurrence and feeding of berycomorphid and percomorphid teleost fish in the Rockall Trough. J. Cons., 41: 239-247.

Merrett, N.R., J.D.M. Gordon, M. Stehmann and R.L. Haedrich. – 1991. Deep demersal fish assemblage structure in the Porcupine Seabight (eastern North Atlantic): slope sampling by three different trawls compared. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. UK, 71: 329-358. doi:10.1017/S0025315400051638

Murua, H. and F. Saborido-Rey. – 2003. Female reproductive strategies of marine fish species of the North Atlantic. J. Northwest Atl. Fish. Sci., 33: 21-33. doi:10.2960/J.v33.a2

Murua, H., G. Kraus, F. Saborido-Rey, P.R. Witthames, A. Thorsen and S. Junquera. – 2003. Procedures to estimate fecundity of marine fish species in relation to their reproductive strategy. J. Northwest Atl. Fish. Sci., 33: 33-54. doi:10.2960/J.v33.a3

Nakamura, I. and N.V. Parin. – 1993. FAOspecies catalogue. Vol 15. Snake mackerels and cutlassfishes of the world (families Gempylidae and Trichiuridae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the snake mackerels, snoeks, escolars, gemfishes, sackfishes, domine, oilfishes, cutlassfishes, scabbardfishes, hairtails and frostfishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop., 125 (15): 1-136.

Pajuelo J.G., J.A. González, J.I. Santana, J.M. Lorenzo, A. García-Mederos and V. Tuset. – 2008. Biological parameters of the bathyal fish black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo Lowe, 1839) off the Canary Islands, Central-east Atlantic. Fish. Res., 92: 140-147. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2007.12.022

Pawson, M.G., G.D. Pickett and P.R. Whitthames. – 2000. The influence of temperature on the onset of first maturity in sea bass. J. Fish Biol., 56: 319-327. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2000.tb02109.x

Perera, C. B. 2008. Distribution and biology of black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo Lowe, 1839) in the Northwest of Africa. Ms Thesis, Sciences Faculty, University of Lisbon.

Pianka, E.R. – 2000. Evolutionary ecology. Sixth Edition. Benjamin-Cummings, Addison-Wesley-Longman. San Francisco.

Ramsay, K. and P. Witthames. – 1996. Using oocyte sizes to assess seasonal ovarian development in Solea solea (L.). J. Sea Res., 36: 275-283. doi:10.1016/S1385-1101(96)90796-0

Rideout, R.M. and G.A. Rose. – 2006. Suppression of reproduction in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.). Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 320: 267-277. doi:10.3354/meps320267

Rideout, R.M., M.P.M. Burton and G.A. Rose. – 2000. Observations on mass atresia and skipped spawning in northern Atlantic cod, from Smith Sound, Newfoundland. J. Fish Biol., 57: 1429-1440. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2000.tb02222.x

Rideout, R.M., G.A. Rose and M.P.M. Burton. – 2005. Skipped spawning in female iteroparous fishes. Fish and Fisheries, 6: 50-72. doi:10.1111/j.1467-2679.2005.00174.x

Rideout, R.M., M.J. Morgan and G.R. Lily. – 2006. Variation in the frequency of skipped spawning in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) off Newfoundland and Labrador. ICES J. Mar. Sci., 63: 1101-1110.

Saborido-Rey, F. and S. Junquera. – 1998. Histological assessment of variations in sexual maturity of cod (Gadus morhua L.) at the Flemish Cap (north-west Atlantic). ICES J. Mar. Sci., 55: 515-521. doi:10.1006/jmsc.1997.0344

Skjæraasen, J.E., J. Kennedy, A. Thorsen, R. Nash and O.SKjesbu. – 2007. Timing and determination of skipped spawning in Atlantic cod. Joint NAFO/ICES/PICES Symposium on “Reproductive and Recruitment Processes of Exploited Marine Fish Stocks” 1-3 October, Lisbon, Portugal.

Stefanni, S. and H. Knutsen. – 2007. Phylogeography and demographic history of the deep-sea fish Aphanopus carbo (Lowe, 1839) in the NEAtlantic: vicariance followed by secondary contact or speciation? Mol. Phyl. Evol., 42: 38-46. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.035 PMid:16876444

Swan, S.C., J.D.M. Gordon and T. Shimmield. – 2003. Preliminary investigations on the uses of otolith microchemistry for stock discrimination of the deep-water black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo) in the Northeast Atlantic. J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci., 31: 221-231.

Trippel, E.A. – 1999. Estimation of stock reproductive potential: history and challenges for Canadian Atlantic gadoid stock assessments. J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci., 25: 61-81. doi:10.2960/J.v25.a6

Tucker, D.W. and G. Palmer. – 1949. New British records of two rare deep-sea fishes: Oxynotus paradoxus Frade and Aphanopus carbo Lowe. Nature, 164: 930-931. doi:10.1038/164930b0 PMid:15407669

Walsh, S.J. and W.R. Bowering. – 1981. Histological and visual observations on oogenesis and sexual maturity in Greenland halibut off northern Labrador. NAFO Sci. Counc. Stud., 1: 71-75.

Walsh, S.J., R. Wells and S. Brennan. – 1986. Histological and visual observations on oogenesis and sexual maturity of Flemish Cap female cod. NAFO Sci. Counc. Res. Doc. 86/111, 11 p.