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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2001 58(1):87-95; doi:10.1006/jmsc.2000.0992
© 2001 by ICES/CIEM International Council for the Exploration of the Sea/Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer
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Growth of juvenile tarpon in Puerto Rican Estuaries

A. Zerbi, C. Aliaume and J.-C. Joyeux

Université de Montpellier II, U.M.R.-C.N.R.S. 5556, Case Courier 093, Place E. Bataillon, 34095, Montpellier Cedex 05, France; Fax: 00 467143719; zerbi{at}crit.univ-montp2.fr

Daily growth increments in otoliths of juvenile Megalops atlanticus, were validated by injection of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC) while in the mangrove zone of Boquerón Bay, Puerto Rico. Peritoneal and intra-muscular injection of OTC at 100 mg kg–1 doses were successful in marking otoliths of juvenile tarpon which ranged from 39–133 mm in standard length (SL). The growth rate estimated from SL–age regression, suggested a growth rate of 0.92±0.03 (s.e.) mm day–1. At estuarine arrival, tarpon leptocephali were estimated to have a mean age of 33.7±0.3 d (n=182), with most larvae being in their second stage of metamorphosis. The young age at arrival supports the hypothesis that tarpon spawning grounds occur relatively close to the Puerto Rican shore. Back-calculated hatching dates from tarpon otolith microstructure suggests a long spawning season in Puerto Rico with two annual peaks, one occurring in springtime (March–May) and another in late summer (July–September).

Keywords: age validation, growth, recruitment, tarpon

Received 20 July 1999; accepted 24 June 2000.


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