Using sagittal otoliths and eye diameter for ecological characterization of deep-sea fish: Aphanopus carbo and A. intermedius from NE Atlantic waters

• Published in: Scientia Marina
• Main Authors: Tuset, Víctor M., Piretti, Silvia, Lombarte, Antoni, González, José A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: CSIC - Instituto de Ciencias del Mar (ICM) 2010
• Subjects: Ecology; Morphometry; Otolith; Aphanopus carbo; Aphanopus intermedius; Teleosts; Ecología; Morfometría; Otolito; Teleósteos; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/28900; https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2010.74n4807

8 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables [EN] The sagittal otolith and eye diameter of two sympatric species of the genus Aphanopus, A. carbo and A. intermedius, from North Atlantic waters were investigated. The study objectives were to find morphometric variables of otoliths to identify the two species and relate ecomorphological characters of otolith and eye diameter to the depth distribution of each species. The otoliths of the two species are very similar, although significant differences in shape, otolith height and weight and the sulcus acusticus area were detected. The ratio between eye diameter and cephalic length (ED:CL ratio) was also significantly different. In both analyses A. carbo obtained higher values, which suggests that A. carbo and A. intermedius live in different spatial niches, and that A. carbo inhabits deeper waters. The ratio between the sulcus and otolith areas (S:O) was low compared to other fish species, which suggests that the hearing capacity of Aphanopus spp. is adapted to low frequency sound. This adaptation may be related to the oceanographic conditions in which these species live, and in particular to the characteristics of sound transmission in the “SOFAR channel” [ES] El otolito sagitta y el diámetro del ojo de dos especies simpátricas del género Aphanopus, A. carbo y A. intermedius, del Atlántico Norte fueron analizados. Los objetivos del estudio se centraron en encontrar las variables morfométricas del otolito que pudiesen ser empleadas en la diferenciación de ambas especies y en establecer una correspondencia entre la profundidad de distribución de las especies y las características ecomorfológicas del otolito y del diámetro del ojo. Los otolitos de ambas especies resultaron ser parecidos, si bien se detectaron diferencias significativas en la forma, en el peso y la anchura del otolito y en el área del sulcus acusticus. La proporción entre el diámetro del ojo y la longitud cefálica (ED:CL) también puso de manifiesto diferencias significativas entre ambas especies. En ambos análisis, ...