Morphological and Meristic Variation in Northwest Atlantic Sand Lances ( Ammodytes)

• Published in: Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
• Main Author: Scott, J. S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1972
• Subjects: Greenland; Newfoundland; Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f72-266; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f72-266

Morphological characteristics of Ammodytes species from Greenland to New England showed little variation from area to area, except for mean and maximum lengths which increased offshore from north to south and from inshore to offshore. Meristic numbers (dorsal and anal fin rays, vertebrae) were fairly uniform for offshore stocks, but reduced values in Gulf of St. Lawrence and off Cape Cod bridged the gap between offshore (A. dubius) and inshore (A. hexapterus) values which had previously been used to differentiate the species.Weight–length relations conformed to the standard weight–length equation and were similar over the Nova Scotia and Newfoundland grand banks. There was a considerable difference between prespawning and postspawning fish, indicating a 30% loss in weight during spawning.There appeared to be a close relation between morphological and meristic variation, and environment. Changes in fish size and meristic numbers corresponded to changes in water temperature, but observed ranges in meristic numbers were much greater than experimentally induced changes in other species, and genetic variation between stocks is difficult to discount.