Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T10:36:27.597Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Population structure and aspects of the reproductive biology of the blackmouth catshark, Galeus melastomus Rafinesque, 1810 (Chondrichthyes: Scyliorhinidae) caught accidentally off the Greek coasts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 December 2016

Christoforos Panicos Metochis ,
Greta Carmona-Antoñanzas ,
Vasiliki Kousteni ,
Dimitrios Damalas  and
Persefoni Megalofonou
Christoforos Panicos Metochis*
Affiliation:
Institute of Aquaculture, School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK
Greta Carmona-Antoñanzas
Affiliation:
Institute of Aquaculture, School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK
Vasiliki Kousteni
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Section of Zoology, Marine Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Ilisia, 15784 Athens, Greece Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Agios Kosmas, Helliniko, 16777 Attica, Greece
Dimitrios Damalas
Affiliation:
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Agios Kosmas, Helliniko, 16777 Attica, Greece
Persefoni Megalofonou
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Section of Zoology, Marine Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Ilisia, 15784 Athens, Greece
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: C.P. Metochis, Institute of Aquaculture, School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The population composition and aspects of the reproductive biology of 452 blackmouth catsharks, Galeus melastomus were investigated. The sharks were incidentally caught off the North-Western Aegean, the Eastern Corinthian and Northern Euboean Gulfs by commercial bottom trawlers and longlines at depths between 200 and 500 m. The overall sex ratio (1:1.1 females:males) was not different from the theoretical unit (1:1). No differences in the sex ratios were detected among seasons, areas or depth strata. Significant differences in the population structure regarding different maturity stage proportions at different seasons, fishing areas and depths, were observed. The sampled population mainly consisted of immature catsharks (77%), predominantly trawled off the NW Aegean and Corinthian Gulf during winter and autumn. Fifteen per cent of the samples, mainly captured in spring and summer off the N Euboean Gulf, were mature. Eight per cent of the specimens was found to be maturing. Higher frequencies of heavier female individuals were observed. Based on the maturation ogives and the total lengths (TL) for each sex, using logistic regression which presented sex-related differences, male Galeus melastomus achieved maturity at 433.6 mm while females at 483.5 mm. The number of egg capsules in the oviducts spanned from 1–12 per female with sizes varying from 38 × 14 mm to 55 × 20 mm. This is the first study investigating the demography and aspects of Galeus melastomus reproduction in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Keywords

demersal fisheriesblackmouth catsharkpopulation structurereproductive strategiesEastern Mediterranean
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 98 , Issue 4 , June 2018 , pp. 909 - 925
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abella, A.J. and Serena, F. (2005) Comparison of elasmobranch catches from research trawl surveys and commercial landings at port of Viareggio (Italy in the Last Decade). Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science 35, 345–356.Google Scholar
Anastasopoulou, A., Mytilineou, C., Lefkaditou, E., Dokos, J., Smith, C.J., Siapatis, A., Bekas, P. and Papadopoulou, K.-N. (2013) Diet and feeding strategy of blackmouth catshark G. melastomus. Journal of Fish Biology 83, 1637–1655.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bannister, K. (1998) The book of the shark, 2nd edition. London: Grange Books Publishing Ltd.Google Scholar
Bathymetric data viewers-Maps. Available at https://maps.ngdc.noaa.gov/viewers/bathymetry/.Google Scholar
Borcea, I. (1908) Une observation sur la maturité et la parturition chez le Pristiurus melanostomus sp. Annales Scientifiques de l'Université de Jassy 5, 84–85.Google Scholar
Bouchet, P. and Taviani, M. (1992) The Mediterranean deep-sea fauna: pseudopopulations of Atlantic species? Deep-Sea Resources 39, 169–184.Google Scholar
Branstetter, S. (1990) Early life-history implications on selected Carcharhinoid and Lamnoid sharks of the Northwest Atlantic. In Pratt, H.L. Jr, Gruber, S.H. and Taniuchi, T. (eds) Elasmobranchs as living resources: advances in the biology, ecology, systematics, and the status of the fisheries. Technical Report. Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 90 pp.Google Scholar
Cadenat, J. and Blache, J. (1981) Requins de Méditerranée et d'Atlantique (plus particulièrement de la côte occidentale d'Afrique). Faune Tropicale, ORSTOM 21, 1–330.Google Scholar
Capapé, C. (1974) Systématique écologie et biologie de la reproduction des Sélaciens des côtes tunisiennes. Thèse Doctorat. Universite de Paris, Paris, p. 148.Google Scholar
Capapé, C. and Brahim, R.B. (1984) Nouvelles donnés sur la morfologie de Galeus melastomus Rafinesque, 1810 (Pisces, Scyliorhinidae). Oebalia (New Series) 10, 1–16.Google Scholar
Capapé, C., Guélorget, O., Vergne, Y. and Reynaud, C. (2008) Reproductive biology of the blackmouth catshark, Galeus melastomus (Chondrichthyes: Scyliorhinidae) off the Languedocian coast (Southern France, Northern Mediterranean). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 88, 415–421.Google Scholar
Capapé, C. and Zaouali, J. (1977) Contribution a la biologie de Scyliorhinidae des cotes tunisiennes. VI: Galeus melastomus Rafinesque, 1810. Repartition geographyque et bathymetrique, sexulite, reproduction, fecondite. Cahiers De Biologie Marine 18, 449–463.Google Scholar
Castro, J.L. (1993) The shark nursery of Bulls Bay, South Carolina, with a review of the shark nurseries of the southeastern coast of the United States. Environmental Biology of Fishes 38, 37–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Compagno, L.J.V. (1984a) FAO species catalogue vol. 4. Sharks of the world: an annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 1: Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fisheries Synopsis no. 125. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 249 pp.Google Scholar
Compagno, L.J.V. (1984b) FAO species catalogue, vol. 4. Sharks of the world: an annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2: Carchariniformes. FAO Fisheries Synopsis no. 125. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 655 pp.Google Scholar
Costa, M.E., Erzini, K. and Borges, T.C. (2005) Reproductive biology of the blackmouth catshark G. melastomus (Chondrichthyes: Scyliorhinidae) off the south coast of Portugal. Journal of the Marine Biology Association of the United Kingdom 85, 1173–1183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Damalas, D. and Vassilopoulou, V. (2011) Chondrichthyan by-catch and discards in the demersal trawl fishery of the Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean). Fisheries Research 108, 142–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
D'Onghia, G., Matarrese, A., Tursi, A. and Sion, L. (1995) Observations on the depth distribution pattern of the small-spotted catshark in the North Aegean Sea. Journal of Fish Biology 47, 421–426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Figueiredo, I.M., Figueiredo, M.J. and Moura, O. (1995) Distribution, abundance and size composition of blackmouth catshark (Galeus melastomus) and small spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula) on the slope of the Portuguese South and Southern West coasts. Lisbon: International Council for the Exploration of the Sea & Demersal Fish Committee (Papers & Reports), 38 pp.Google Scholar
Gouraguine, A., Hidalgo, M., Moranta, J., Bailey, D.M., Ordines, F., Guijarro, B., Valls, M., Barbera, C. and De Mesa, A. (2011) Elasmobranch spatial segregation in the western Mediterranean. Scientia Marina 75, 653–664.Google Scholar
Huertas, I.E., Rios, A.F., Garcia-Lafuente, J., Navarro, G., Makaoui, A., Sanchez-Roman, A., Rodriguez-Galvez, S., Orbi, A., Ruiz, J. and Perez, F.F. (2012) Atlantic forcing of the Mediterranean oligotrophy. Global Biochemical Cycles 26, 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iglesias, S.P., Du Buit, M.H. and Nakaya, K. (2002) Egg capsules of deep-sea catsharks from eastern north Atlantic, with first description of the capsule of Galeus murinus and Apristurus aphyodes (Chondrichthyes: Scyliorhinidae). Cybium 26, 59–63.Google Scholar
Joensen, J.S. and Tåning, Å.V. (1970) Marine and freshwater fishes. In Jensen, A.S., Spärck, R., Tuxen, S.L. (eds) The zoology of the Faroes, vol. 3, part I (LXII–LXIII). Copenhagen: A.F. Høst and Son, 241 pp.Google Scholar
Koslow, J.A., Boehlert, G.W., Gordon, J.D.M., Haedrich, R.L., Lorance, P. and Parin, N. (2000) Continental slope and deep sea fisheries: implications for a fragile ecosystem. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57, 548–557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kousteni, V., Kontopoulou, M. and Megalofonou, P. (2010) Sexual maturity and fecundity of Scyliorhinus canicula (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Aegean Sea. Marine Biology Research 6, 390–398.Google Scholar
Le Danois, E. (1913) Contribution à l’étude systématique et biométrique des poissons de la Manche occidentale. Annales de l'Insitut Océanographique de Monaco 5, 1–124.Google Scholar
Lleonart, J. and Maynou, F. (2003) Fish stock assessments in the Mediterranean: state of the art. Scientia Marina 67, 37–49.Google Scholar
Lo Bianco, S. (1909) Notizie biologiche riguardanti specialmente il periodo di maturita sessuale degli animali del golfo di Napoli. Mittheilungen der Zoologischen Station Neapel 19, 513–761.Google Scholar
Lutton, B.V., St George, J., Murrin, C.R., Fileti, L.A. and Callard, I.P. (2005) The elasmobranch ovary. In Hamlett, W.C. (ed.) Reproductive biology and phylogeny of chondrichthyes: sharks, batoids and chimaeras. Plymouth: Science Publishers, pp. 237–281.Google Scholar
Massuti, E., Gordon, J.D.M., Moranta, J., Swan, S.C., Stafanescu, C. and Merrett, N.R. (2004) Mediterranean and Atlantic deep-sea fish assemblages: differences in biomass composition and size-related structure. Scientia Marina 68, 101–115.Google Scholar
Mellinger, J. (1983) Egg-case diversity among dogfish, Scyliorhinus canicula (L.): a study of egg-laying rate and nidamental gland secretory activity. Journal of Fish Biology 22, 83–90.Google Scholar
Mojetta, A. (1997) Sharks: history and biology of the lords of the sea, 1st edition. Shrewsbury: Swan-Hill Press, 168 pp.Google Scholar
Moreno, J.A. (1995) Guía de los tiburones de aguas ibéricas, Atlántico nororíental y Medíterráneo, 1st edition. Madrid: Ediciones Pirámide, S.A.Google Scholar
Muus, B.J., Nielsen, J.G., Dahlström, P. and Nyström, B.O. (1998) Guía de identificación: peces de mar del Atlántico y del Mediterráneo: biología, pesca, importancia económica, 1st edition. Barcelona: Ediciones Omega, S.A. 259 pp.Google Scholar
Pivniĉka, K. and Ĉerný, K. (1990) Poissons, 2nd edition. Paris: Éditions Gründ, 303 pp.Google Scholar
Quéro, J.-C. (1984) Scyliorhinidae. In Whitehead, P.J.P. (ed.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (FNAM). Volume 1. Paris: Unesco, pp. 95–100.Google Scholar
Ragonese, S., Nardone, G., Ottonello, D., Gancitano, S., Giusto, G.B. and Sinacori, G. (2009) Distribution and biology of the blackmouth catshark Galeus melastomus in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea). Mediterranean Marine Science 10, 55–72.Google Scholar
Relini, G., Bertrand, J.A. and Zamboni, A. (1999) Synthesis of the knowledge on bottom fishery resources in Central Mediterranean (Italy and Corsica). Biologia Marina Mediterranea 6, 94–98.Google Scholar
Rey, J., De Sola, L. G. and Massutí, E. (2004) Distribution and biology of the blackmouth catshark Galeus melastomus in the Alboran Sea (Southwestern Mediterranean). Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science 35, 215–223.Google Scholar
Rinelli, P., Bottari, T., Florio, G., Romeo, T., Giordano, D. and Greco, S. (2005) Observations on distribution and biology of Galeus melastomus (Chondrichthyes, Scylliorhinidae) in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (central Mediterranean). Cybium 29, 41–46.Google Scholar
Sanches, J.G. (ed.) (1986) Nomenclatura e Diagnose dos Principais Peixes Marinhos de Portugal (Ciclóstomos, Seláceos e Holocéfalos). In Publicações Avulsas do Instituto Nacional de Investigação das Pescas 9. Lisbon: INIP, 184 pp.Google Scholar
Serena, F. and Abella, A. (1999) Galeus melastomus (Rafinesque, 1908). In Relini, G., Bertrand, J. and Zamboni, A. (eds) SYNDEM: Sintesi delle conoscenze sulle risorse da pesca dei fondi del Mediterraneo centrale (Italia e Corsica), Biologia marina mediterranea, vol. 6 (Suppl.). Genova: Societa Italiana di Biologia Marina, pp. 58–61.Google Scholar
Smith, J.L.B. (1965) New records and descriptions of fishes from Southwest Africa. Occasional Paper, Department of Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 3, 13–23.Google Scholar
Stefanescu, C., Lloris, D. and Rucabado, J. (1992) Deep-living demersal fishing fishes in the Catalan Sea (western Mediterranean) below a depth of 1000 m. Journal of Natural History 26, 197–213.Google Scholar
Stehmann, M.F.W. (2002) Proposal of a maturity stages scale for oviparous and viviparous cartilaginous fishes (Pisces, Chondrichthyes). Archive of Fishery and Marine Research 50, 23–48.Google Scholar
Tortonese, E. (1956) Leptocardia, Ciclostomata, Selachii. Fauna d'Italia B 2, 1–334.Google Scholar
Tserpes, G., Maravelias, C. D., Pantazi, M. and Peristeraki, P. (2013) Distribution of relatively rare demersal elasmobranchs in the eastern Mediterranean. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 117, 48–53.Google Scholar
Turley, C.M. (1999) The changing Mediterranean Sea – a sensitive ecosystem? Progress in Oceanography 44, 387–400.Google Scholar
Tursi, A., D'Onghia, G., Matarrese, A. and Piscitelli, G. (1993) Observations on population biology of the blackmouth catshark Galeus melastomus (Chondrichthyes, Scyliorhinidae) in the Ionian Sea. Cybium 17, 187–196.Google Scholar
Ungaro, N., Marano, G. and Musci, E. (1997) Aspetti relative alla riproduzione di selaci demersali nel bacino Adriatico Su-Occidentale. Biologia Marina Mediterrranea 4, 567–570.Google Scholar
Wheeler, A. (1975) Fishes of the world, an illustrated dictionary. New York, NY: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Zar, J.H. (1996) Biostatistical analysis, 3rd edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar