Directional Bilateral Asymmetry in Fish Otolith: A Potential Tool to Evaluate Stock Boundaries?

Type Article
Date 2021-06
Language English
Author(s) Mahe KeligORCID1, Mackenzie KirsteenORCID1, Djamila Ider2, 3, Massaro Andrea4, Hamed Oussama5, Jurado-Ruzafa Alba6, Gonçalves Patricia7, Anastasopoulou Aikaterini8, Jadaud AngeliqueORCID9, Mytilineou Chryssi8, Randon Marine10, Elleboode Romain1, Morell AlaiaORCID1, Ramdane Zohir2, Smith Joanne11, Bekaert Karen12, Amara Rachid13, de Pontual HeleneORCID14, Ernande BrunoORCID15, 16
Affiliation(s) 1 : IFREMER, Fisheries Laboratory, 150 quai Gambetta, BP 699, 62200 Boulogne-sur-mer, France
2 : Laboratoire de Zoologie Appliquée et d’Ecophysiologie Animale, Université Abderrahmane Mira, Béjaïa 06000, Algeria
3 : Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie et des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Bouira, Bouira 10000, Algeria
4 : APLYSIA—Via Menichetti 35, 27121 Livorno, Italy
5 : Campus Universitaire, Université de Tunis El Manar, El Manar II 2092, Tunisia
6 : Centro Oceanográfico de Canarias, Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO, CSIC), 38180 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
7 : Departamento do Mar e dos Recursos Marinhos, Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA), 1495-006 Lisboa, Portugal
8 : Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Anavyssos Attiki, 19013 Athens, Greece
9 : MARBEC, University Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, 34200 Sète, France
10 : Agrocampus Ouest, UMR 985 ESE Ecologie et santé des écosystèmes, 35042 Rennes, France
11 : CEFAS, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0HT, UK
12 : ILVO—Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research, Ankerstraat 1, 8400 Oostende, Belgium
13 : Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences, Université Littoral Côte d’Opale, University of Lille, CNRS, UMR 8187, LOG, 62930 Wimereux, France
14 : IFREMER, Sciences et Technologies Halieutiques, CS 10070, 29280 Plouzané, France
15 : MARBEC, University of Montpellier, IFREMER, CNRS, IRD, 34000 Montpellier, France
16 : Evolution and Ecology Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Source Symmetry-basel (2073-8994) (MDPI), 2021-06 , Vol. 13 , N. 6 , P. 987 (13p.)
DOI 10.3390/sym13060987
WOS© Times Cited 13
Note This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological Symmetry Analysis
Keyword(s) otolith shape, side effect, Fourier descriptors, stock identification, Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, common sole, bogue
Abstract

The otolith, found in both inner ears of bony fish, has mainly been used to estimate fish age. Another application that has been developing significantly in recent years, however, is the use of otolith shape as a tool for stock identification. Often, studies have directly used the shape asymmetry between the right and left otoliths. We tested the magnitude of directional asymmetry between the sagittal otoliths (left vs. right) of 2991 individuals according to their catch locations, and we selected species to evaluate whether directional asymmetry may itself be a tool to evaluate stock boundaries. Elliptical Fourier descriptors were used to describe the otolith shape. We used a flatfish, the common sole (Solea solea, n = 2431), from the eastern English Channel and the southern North Sea as well as a roundfish, the bogue (Boops boops, n = 560), from the Mediterranean Sea. Both species showed significant levels of directional asymmetry between the testing locations. The bogue otoliths showed significant asymmetry for only 5 out of 11 locations, with substantial separation between two large areas: the Algerian coast and the western part of the Italian coast. The sole otoliths showed significant asymmetry in the shape analysis (3.84%–6.57%), suggesting a substantial separation between two large areas: the English and French parts of the English Channel and the southern North Sea. Consequently, directional bilateral asymmetry in otolith shape is a potential new method for stock identification.

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Mahe Kelig, Mackenzie Kirsteen, Djamila Ider, Massaro Andrea, Hamed Oussama, Jurado-Ruzafa Alba, Gonçalves Patricia, Anastasopoulou Aikaterini, Jadaud Angelique, Mytilineou Chryssi, Randon Marine, Elleboode Romain, Morell Alaia, Ramdane Zohir, Smith Joanne, Bekaert Karen, Amara Rachid, de Pontual Helene, Ernande Bruno (2021). Directional Bilateral Asymmetry in Fish Otolith: A Potential Tool to Evaluate Stock Boundaries? Symmetry-basel, 13(6), 987 (13p.). Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13060987 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00697/80873/