The Oceans Institute and School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
J Fish Biol. 2014 Feb;84(2):328-38. doi: 10.1111/jfb.12287. Epub 2014 Jan 22.
This study investigated whether teeth and dorsal fin spines could be used as non-lethal methods of age estimation for a vulnerable and highly valued tropical fisheries species, coral trout Plectropomus leopardus. Age estimation of individuals from 2 to 9 years old revealed that dorsal spines represent an accurate ageing method (90% agreement with otoliths) that was more precise [average per cent error (APE) = 4·1, coefficient of variation (c.v.) = 5·8%] than otoliths (APE = 6·2, c.v. = 8·7%). Of the three methods for age estimation (otoliths, dorsal spines and teeth), spines were the most time and cost efficient. An aquarium-based study also found that removing a dorsal spine or tooth did not affect survivorship or growth of P. leopardus. No annuli were visible in teeth despite taking transverse and longitudinal sections throughout the tooth and trialling several different laboratory methods. Although teeth may not be suitable for estimating age of P. leopardus, dorsal spines appear to be an acceptably accurate, precise and efficient method for non-lethal ageing of individuals from 2 to 9 years old in this tropical species.
本研究探讨了牙齿和背鳍刺是否可用于估计脆弱且极具价值的热带渔业物种——豹纹鲈（Plectropomus leopardus）的非致死性年龄。对 2 至 9 岁个体的年龄估计表明，背鳍刺是一种准确的年龄估测方法（与耳石的吻合度达 90%），比耳石更为精确[平均百分比误差（APE）= 4.1，变异系数（CV）= 5.8%]。在三种年龄估测方法（耳石、背鳍刺和牙齿）中，背鳍刺最节省时间和成本。基于水族馆的研究还发现，去除背鳍刺或牙齿不会影响豹纹鲈的存活率或生长。尽管在牙齿的整个长度上进行了横切和纵切，并尝试了几种不同的实验室方法，但牙齿上仍未见有年轮。尽管牙齿可能不适合估计豹纹鲈的年龄，但对于 2 至 9 岁的个体，背鳍刺似乎是一种可接受的准确、精确和高效的非致死性年龄估测方法。
