0000000000294007
AUTHOR
Dino Levi
Genetic and morphometric variations of Mediterranean hake,Merluccius merluccius,in the Strait of Sicily (central Mediterranean): Implications for stock assessment of shared resources
Allozyme, morphometric and growth analyses were applied to samples collected in the Strait of Sicily (central Mediterranean Sea) to test the hypothesis of the existence of a unique hake stock (Merluccius merluccius) in the study area. The level of genetic variation was detected from five polymorphic loci (ADH*, PGI-1; PGI-2*, PGM', SOD-1*). The average observed heterozygosity amounted to 0.421, while the average expected was 0.353. Weir & Cockerham statistics showed no heterogeneity, except for the single PGP locus (9 = 0.011; P 0.05). Morphometric analyses revealed some differentiation. Females showed different relationships in six out of eight morphometric indices with total length, while…
Nanism (dwarfism) in fish: a comparison between red mullet Mullus barbatus from the southeastern and the central Mediterranean
The gradient of environmental conditions from west to east in the Mediterranean results in very low primary productivity in the eastern area of this sea. This impoverishment is expressed also in higher trophic levels and has been accounted for by several faunistic phenomena. One of these is 'Levantine nanism' (dwarfism); this is characterized by smaller body size of specimens in the Levantine basin compared with conspecifics in the western Mediterranean. Nanism has been hypothesized for various taxonomic groups in the Mediterranean, but no quantitative study has yet been carried out to confirm it. In the present study male and female red mullet Mullus barbatus from trawl surveys carried out…
An analysis based on trawl-survey data of the state of the ‘Italian’ stock of Mullus barbatus in the Sicilian Channel, including management advice
Abstract Data on the relative abundance of age groups obtained by statistically designed routine trawl surveys in approximately half of the Sicilian Channel were processed with commonly available microcomputer fish population dynamics packages. The species considered was Mullus barbatus , a unit stock of which had been previously identified in the study area. Analytical and management outcomes were also assessed in relative terms. Conditions and limits on both the analyses and the outcomes are discussed with reference to the particular case study.