Fish/Fisheries Conservation Lab, Department of Biology/Geology, University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, SC, United States of America.
Marine Sciences, SEOE, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2022 Jan 7;17(1):e0262281. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262281. eCollection 2022.
Ensuring the accuracy of age estimation in fisheries science through validation is an essential step in managing species for long-term sustainable harvest. The current study used Δ14 C in direct validation of age estimation for queen triggerfish Balistes vetula and conclusively documented that triggerfish sagittal otoliths provide more accurate and precise age estimates relative to dorsal spines. Caribbean fish samples (n = 2045) ranged in size from 67-473 mm fork length (FL); 23 fish from waters of the southeastern U.S. (SEUS) Atlantic coast ranged in size from 355-525 mm FL. Otolith-based age estimates from Caribbean fish range from 0-23 y, dorsal spine-based age estimates ranged from 1-14 y. Otolith-based age estimates for fish from the SEUS ranged from 8-40 y. Growth function estimates from otoliths in the current study (L∞ = 444, K = 0.13, t0 = -1.12) differed from spined-derived estimates in the literature. Our work indicates that previously reported maximum ages for Balistes species based on spine-derived age estimates may underestimate longevity of these species since queen triggerfish otolith-based ageing extended maximum known age for the species by nearly three-fold (14 y from spines versus 40 y from otoliths). Future research seeking to document age and growth population parameters of Balistes species should strongly consider incorporating otolith-based ageing in the research design.
通过验证确保渔业科学中年龄估测的准确性是长期可持续收获物种管理的重要步骤。本研究使用 Δ14 C 对皇后神仙鱼 Balistes vetula 的年龄估测进行了直接验证，并确凿地证明了相对于背刺，神仙鱼矢耳石提供了更准确和更精确的年龄估计。加勒比海鱼类样本（n = 2045）的大小范围从 67-473 毫米叉长（FL）；来自美国东南部大西洋沿岸水域（SEUS）的 23 条鱼大小范围从 355-525 毫米 FL。基于耳石的加勒比鱼类年龄估计范围从 0-23 年，基于背刺的年龄估计范围从 1-14 年。来自 SEUS 的鱼类的耳石年龄估计范围从 8-40 年。本研究中从耳石得出的生长函数估计值（L∞=444，K=0.13，t0=-1.12）与文献中背刺衍生的估计值不同。我们的工作表明，以前基于背刺衍生的年龄估计报告的 Balistes 物种的最大年龄可能低估了这些物种的寿命，因为皇后神仙鱼的耳石年龄估计将物种的最大已知年龄延长了近三倍（从背刺的 14 年到耳石的 40 年）。未来寻求记录 Balistes 物种年龄和生长种群参数的研究应强烈考虑在研究设计中纳入基于耳石的年龄估计。
