Main Article Content

Abstract

The Caspian stellate tadpole-goby, Benthophilus leobergius is endemic to for the Caspian Sea. In Iranian waters of the Caspian Sea, however, little is known about its life history. To address this, life history characteristics were examined in 256 specimens collected from the southeastern Caspian Sea, northern part of the Miankaleh Wildlife Refuge. The maximum observed age was 2+ years for both sexes. The sex ratio of males to females was 1:1.70. Estimated length-weight relationship was TL=0.0088TW3.289 for males, TL= 0.0099TW3.191 for females, and TL=0.0086TW3.270 for the combined sexes. Egg diameter ranged from 0.8 to 1.8 mm with the mean of 1.259±0.50 mm. Mean absolute and relative fecundities were 2117±1243 eggs/female, and 130±77 eggs·g-1 body weight, respectively. Absolute fecundity and egg diameter were found to increase significantly with increasing fish size, whereas relative fecundity decreased significantly with total body weight.

Keywords

Sex ratio Age Growth Reproduction LWR Miankaleh.

Article Details

Author Biography

Rahman PATIMAR, Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, Gonbad Kavous University, Golestan, Iran.

Department of Fisheries, Associate Professor
How to Cite
PATIMAR, R., QARANJIKI, A., & BAHALKEH, A. (2020). Life history traits of the Caspian stellate tadpole-goby Benthophilus leobergius Berg, 1949 (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from the southeastern Caspian Sea, Iran. Iranian Journal of Ichthyology, 6(4), 254–263. https://doi.org/10.22034/iji.v6i4.361

References

    Abdoli, A. 2000. The Inland Water Fishes of Iran. Museum of Nature and Wild life, Tehran, Iran. 377 p.
    Abdoli, A.; Rahmani, H. & Rasouli, P. 2002. On the occurrence, diet and reproduction of Neogobius fluviatilis in Madarsou stream, Golestan National Park (north eastern Iran). Zoology in the Middle East 26: 123-128.
    Abdoli, A.; Allahyari, S.; Kiabi, B. H.; Patimar, R.; Ghelichi, A.; Mostafavi, H.; Aghili, S. M. & Rasooli, P. 2009. Length–weight relationships for seven Gobiid fish species in the southeastern Caspian Sea basin, Iran. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 25: 785-786.
    Abdoli, A. & Naderi, M. 2009. Biodiversity of Fishes of the Southern Basin of the Caspian Sea. Abzian Scientific Publication, Tehran.
    Abdollah-Pour Biria, H.; Abbasi, K. & Sarpanah, A.N. 2010. Studying diet of Neogobius melanostomus at south west coast of Caspian Sea (Guilan Province). Journal of Fisheries. Islamic Azad University, Azadshahr Branch 4(3): 15-27.
    Alavi Yeganeh, M.S. & Kalbasi, M.R. 2006. Study on diet composition of Caspian sand goby, Neogobius fluviatilis pallasi (Berg, 1916), in south of Caspian Sea (Noor Beach). Iranian Journal of Biology 19(3): 180-190.
    Allahyari, S. 2008. Investigation on age, growth, reproduction and feeding habits of gobiid species in Gomishan wetland. MSc. thesis, Shahid Beheshti Universiy, Tehran, Iran.
    Berg, L.S. 1965. Freshwater fishes of the U.S.S.R. and Adjacent Countries. Vol. II, 4th edn. Program for Scientific Translations Ltd, Jerusalem, (Russian version published 1949). 576 p.
    Bagenal, T. & Tesch, F. 1978. Age and growth. In: In: Bagenal, F. (ed), Methods for Assessment of Fish Production in Freshwaters. IBP Handbook 3, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. 256 p.
    Ghothb-Razmjoo, E.; Rezvani, S.; Fatemi, S.M.R.; Ghavam Mostafavi, P. & Purkazemi, M. 2008. Population genetic structure of Neogobius caspius (Eichwald, 1831) in the South Caspian Sea using PCR-RFLP marker. Iranian Journal of Fisheries 2(3): 1-7.
    Jonsson, N. & Jonsson, J. 1999. Trade-off between egg mass and egg number in brown trout. Journal of Fish Biology 55: 767-783.
    Kottelat, M. & Freyhof, J. 2007. Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes. Kottelat Cornol, Switzerland and Freyhof, Berlin. 646 p.
    Naderi, M. & Abdoli, A. 2004. Fish species Atlas of south Caspian Sea Basin (Iranian waters). Iranian Fisheries Research Organization, Tehran. 242 p.
    Patimar, R.; Mahdavi, M.J. & Adineh, H. 2008. Biology of sand goby Neogobius fluviatilis pallasi (Berg 1916) in Zarrin-Gol River (east Alborz Mountain). Journal of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources 15(1): 54-64.
    Pauly, D. 1984. Fish Population Dynamics in Tropical waters: a Manual for Use for Programmable Calculators. ICLARM Studies and Reviews 8. 325 p.
    Peters, R. H. 1983. The Ecological Implications of Body Size. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 344 p.
    Ragimov, D. B. 1965. On the distribution of gobiids in the western coast of the central and southern Caspian. Dokladi Akademii Nauka Azerbaijana, SSR. 21(12): 47-50. (In Russian)
    Ragimov, D.B. 1978. On the systematic status of some species of the genus Benthophilus (Family Gobiidae) from the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Azov. Journal of Ichthyology 18(5): 701-708.
    Ragimov, D. B. 1985. Some Caspian species of the genus Benthophilus (Gobiidae). Journal of Ichthyology 25(6): 153-161.
    Ragimov, D.B. 1986. Zoogeographical analysis of Gobiid fishes of Caspian Sea. In: Proceeding of 5th Congress of Hydrobiological Association, Academy of Science of USSR, Taliatti. pp: 113-114.
    Ragimov, D.B. 1987. Reproduction of small goby species (Gobiidae) of the Caspian Sea. Journal of Ichthyology 27(1): 58-65.
    Roff, D.A. 1982. Reproductive strategies in flatfish: a first synthesis. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 39: 1686-1698.
    Sarpanah, A.N.; Cristianus, A.; Shabani, A.; Nezami Balouchi, S.A.; Shabanpour, B. & Ben-Saad, C. 2008. Reproductive Biology of Neogobius caspius in south-western Caspian Sea (Coastal area of Guilan Province). Iranian Journal of Fisheries 17(3): 87-98.
    Stearns, S.C. 1992. The Evolution of Life Histories. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 264 p.
    Stepanova, T.G. 2001. Some feature of reproduction and growth of gobies in the northern Caspian. In: Ecology of Young Fish and problem of Caspian Fish Reproduction. VNIRO Press. pp: 268-276.
    Zar, J.H. 1984. Biostatistical Analysis. Englewood’s Cliffs, N. J. Prentice Hall. 929 p.