Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T13:11:02.436Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Maturity, reproductive cycle and fecundity of the spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias (Chondrichthyes: Squalidae) off the Languedocian coast (southern France, northern Mediterranean)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2011

C. Capapé  and
C. Reynaud
C. Capapé*
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur la Didactique, l’Éducation et la Formation, E. A. 3749, case 77, Université Montpellier II, Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, 34 095 Montpellier cedex 5, France
C. Reynaud
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur la Didactique, l’Éducation et la Formation, E. A. 3749, case 77, Université Montpellier II, Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, 34 095 Montpellier cedex 5, France
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: C. Capapé, Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur la Didactique, l’Éducation et la Formation, E. A. 3749, case 77, Université Montpellier II, Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, 34 095 Montpellier cedex 5, France email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias is widely distributed in Atlanto-Mediterranean regions, being captured off the Languedocian coast (southern France, northern Mediterranean), despite a decline of landings. The male and female sexually matured between 635–700 mm and 860–880 mm total length (TL), respectively. The largest male and female were 800 mm and 1110 mm TL, respectively and weighed 2220 g and 8900 g, respectively. There was a significant relationship for total mass versus TL, and liver mass versus TL between males and females. The diameter of the largest yolky oocytes ranged between 43 and 47 mm (mean 45.08 ± 0.98), while the mass ranged between 29.5 and 37.4 g (mean 31.79 ± 2.20). Near- term embryos ranged from 245 to 271 mm TL (mean: 258.85 ± 7.28) and weighed from 47.5 to 55.9 g (mean 53.35 ± 2.26). Ovarian fecundity ranged from 6 to 15 (mean = 10.38 ± 2.66). Uterine fecundity or litter size ranged from 4 to 12 (mean = 8.15 ± 2.07). Both fecundities showed a positive relationship with TL of females. A chemical balance of development based on mean dry masses of yolky oocytes and near-term embryos was 0.87 and suggested that S. acanthias is a pure lecithotrophic species. Hepatosomatic index (HSI) and gonadosomatic index (GSI) significantly increased with size in both males and females. HSI reached the highest values in both sub-adult and adult specimens, reflecting the role of the liver in the gonadal production as well as in buoyancy, while in the GSI the highest values were observed in pregnant females. Vitellogenesis proceeds in parallel with embryonic development. Near-term females were captured in different months of the year while a short period of resting could not be excluded between parturition and the beginning of a new pregnancy, so it appears difficult to delineate the length of gestation. However, a reproductive cycle with a wide range from 18 to 24 months remains a suitable hypothesis.

Keywords

maturityreproductive cyclefecundityspiny dogfishSqualus acanthiasLanguedocian coastgonadosomatic indexhepatosomatic index
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 91 , Issue 8 , December 2011 , pp. 1627 - 1635
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

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

Aldebert, Y. (1997) Demersal resources of the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean). Impact of exploitation of fish diversity. Vie et Milieu 47, 275–284.Google Scholar
Avsar, D. (2001) Age, growth, reproduction and feeding of the spurdog (Squalus acanthias Linnaeus, 1758) in the south-eastern Black sea. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 52, 269–278.Google Scholar
Baldridge, H.D. Jr (1970) Sinking factors and average densities of Florida sharks as function of liver buoyancy. Copeia 4, 744–754.Google Scholar
Baldridge, H.D. Jr (1972) Accumulation and function of liver oil in Florida sharks. Copeia 2, 306–325.Google Scholar
Bass, A.J., D'Aubrey, J.D. and Kistnasamy, N. (1976) Sharks of the east coast of southern Africa. V1. The family Oxynotidae, Squalidae, Dalatiidae and Echinorhinidae. Investigational Report of the Oceanographic Research Institute, Durban 45, 103 pp.Google Scholar
Bigelow, H.B. and Schroeder, W.C. (1948) Sharks. In Tee-Van, J., Breder, C.M., Hildebrand, S.F., Parr, A.E. and Schroeder, W.C. (eds) Fishes of the Western North Atlantic, Memoirs of the Sears Foundation for Marine Research 1, 59–546.Google Scholar
Bone, Q. and Roberts, B.L. (1969) The density of elasmobranchs. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 49, 913–917.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Capapé, C., Seck, A.A. and Diatta, Y. (2000a) Reproductive biology of the common torpedo, Torpedo torpedo (Linnaeus, 1758) from the coast of Senegal. Miscellania Zoologica 23, 9–21.Google Scholar
Capapé, C., Tomasini, J.A. and Quignard, J.P. (2000b) Les Elasmobranches Pleurotrêmes de la côte du Languedoc (France méridionale, Méditerranée septentrionale). Observations biologiques et démographiques. Vie et Milieu 50, 123–133.Google Scholar
Capapé, C., Hemida, F., Seck, A.A., Diatta, Y., Guélorget, O. and Zaouali, J. (2003) Reproductive biology of the spinner shark Carcharhinus brevipinna (Müller and Henle, 1841) (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae). Israel Journal of Zoology 49, 269–286.Google Scholar
Capapé, C., Diatta, Y., Diop, M., Guélorget, O., Vergne, Y. and Quignard, J.P. (2006) The reproductive biology of the milk shark, Rhizoprionodon acutus (Rüppell, 1837) (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae) from the coast of Senegal (Eastern Tropical Atlantic). Acta Adriatica 47, 111–126.Google Scholar
Chatzispyrou, A. and Megalofonou, P. (2005) Sexual maturity, fecundity and embryonic development of the spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 85, 1155–1161.Google Scholar
Collenot, G. (1969) Etude biométrique de la croissance relative des ptérygopodes chez la roussette Scyliorhinus canicula L. Cahiers de Biologie Marine 10, 309–29.Google Scholar
Compagno, L.V.J. (1984) FAO species catalogue. Volume 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of sharks species known to date. Part 2. Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fisheries Symposium (125), Part 1. FAO: Rome, pp. 1–249.Google Scholar
Cortès, E. (2002) Incorporation of uncertainty into demographic modeling: application to shark populations and their conservation. Conservation Biology 16, 1048–1062. Available online at www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.00423.xGoogle Scholar
Demirhan, S.A. and Seyhan, K. (2006) Seasonality of reproduction and embryonic growth of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias L., 1758) in the eastern Black Sea. Turkish Journal of Zoology 30, 433–443.Google Scholar
Ford, E. (1921) A contribution to our knowledge of the life histories of the dogfishes landed at Plymouth. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 12, 577–643.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fordham, S., Fowler, S.L., Coelho, R., Goldham, K.J. and Francis, M. (2006) Squalus acanthias. In IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009. 2. www.iucnredlist.org (20 December 2009).Google Scholar
Gibson, C., Valenti, S.V., Fordham, S. and Fowler, S.L. (2008) Report of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group Northeast Atlantic Redlist Workshop. Newbury: IUCN, 76 pp.Google Scholar
Golani, D. (2005) Check-list of the Mediterranean fishes of Israel. Zootaxa 947, 1–200.Google Scholar
Hamlett, W.C., Kormanik, G., Storrie, M., Stevens, B. and Stevens, T.I. (2005) Chondrichthyan parity, lecithotrophy and matrotrophy. In Hamlett, W.C. (ed.) Reproductive biology and phylogeny of Chondrichthyes. Sharks, batoids and chimaeras. Enfield (NH, USA), Plymouth (UK): Science Publishers, Inc., pp. 395–434.Google Scholar
Hanchet, S. (1988) Reproductive biology of Squalus acanthias from the east coast, South Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 22, 537–549.Google Scholar
Henderson, C.A., Flannery, K. and Dunne, J. (2002) Growth and reproduction in spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias L. (Elasmobranchii: Squalidae), from the west coast of Ireland. Sarsia 87, 350–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henderson, A.C., McIlwain, J.L., Al-Oufi, H.S. and Ambu-Ali, A. (2006) Reproductive biology of the milk shark Rhizoprionodon acutus and the bigeye houndshark Iago omanenis in the coastal waters of Oman. Journal of Fish Biology 68, 1662–1678. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2006.01011.x, available online at www.blackwell-synergy.comGoogle Scholar
Hisaw, F.L. and Albert, A. (1947) Observations on the reproduction of the spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias. Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole 92, 179–197.Google Scholar
Holden, M.J. and Meadows, P.S. (1964) The fecundity of the spurdog (Squalus acanthias L.). ICES Journal du Conseil 28, 418–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, T.S. and Ugland, K.I. (2001) Reproduction of female spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias, in the Oslofjord. Fishery Bulletin 99, 685–690.Google Scholar
Ketchen, K.S. (1972) Size of maturity, fecundity, and embryonic growth of the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) in British Columbia waters. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 39, 1717–1723.Google Scholar
Leloup, J. and Olivereau, M. (1951) Données biométriques comparatives sur la Roussette (Scyllium canicula L.) de la Manche et de la Méditerranée. Vie et Milieu 2, 182–206.Google Scholar
Lombardi-Carlson, L.A., Cortès, E., Parsons, G.R. and Manire, C.A. (2003) Latitudinal variation in life-history traits of bonnethead sharks, Sphyrna tiburo, (Carchariniformes: Sphyrnidae) from the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Marine and Freshwater Research 54, 875–883.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lucifora, L.O., Menni, R.C. and Escalante, A.H. (2002) Reproductive ecology and abundance of the sand tiger shark, Carcharias taurus, from the southwestern Atlantic. ICES Journal of Marine Science 59, 553–561.Google Scholar
Lucifora, L.O., Menni, R.C. and Escalante, A.H. (2005) Reproduction, abundance and feeding habits of the broadnose sevengill shark Notorhynchus cepedianus in north Patagonia. Marine Ecology Progress Series 289, 237–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAuley, R.B., Simpfendorfer, C.A., Hyndes, G.A. and Lenanton, R.C.J. (2007) Distribution and reproductive biology of the sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus (Nardo), in Western Australian waters. Marine and Freshwater Research 58, 116–126.Google Scholar
McEachran, J.D. and Branstetter, S. (1984) Squalidae. In Whitehead, P.J.P., Bauchot, M.-L., Hureau, J., Nielsen, J.-C. and Tortonese, E. (eds) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Paris: UNESCO, pp. 128–147.Google Scholar
McFarlane, G.A. and King, J.R. (2003) Migration patterns of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) in the North Pacific Ocean. Fishery Bulletin 100, 358–367.Google Scholar
Mellinger, J. (1989) Reproduction et développement des Chondrichthyens. Océanis 15, 283–303.Google Scholar
Mellinger, J. (2002) Sexualité et reproduction des poissons. Paris, CNRS Éditions.Google Scholar
Mellinger, J. and Wrisez, J. (1989) Biologie et physiologie comparée de deux sélaciens ovipares, les roussettes Scyliorhinus canicula et Scyliorhinus stellaris. Évolution de la matière sèche, de l'eau et des ions (Cl-, Na +, K+) dans le vitellus de S. canucula au cours du développement. Bulletin de la Socété Zoologique de France 114, 51–62.Google Scholar
Nammack, M.F., Musick, J.A. and Colvocoresses, T.A. (1985) Life history of the spiny dogfish off the northeastern United States. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 112, 53–59.Google Scholar
Quéro, J.C., Porché, P. and Vayne, J.J. (2003) Guide des poissons de l'Atlantique européen. Les guides du naturaliste. Lonay (Switzerland) and Paris: Delachaux and Niestlé.Google Scholar
Quignard, J.-P. (1971) Recherches sur la biologie de Squalus blainvillei (Risso, 1826). Travaux du Laboratoire de Biologie Halieuthique de l'Université de Rennes 5, 125–141.Google Scholar
Ranzi, S. (1934) Le basi fiso-morpfologiche dello sviluppo embrionale dei Selaci, part. II, III. Pubblicazione della Stazione Zoologica di Napoli 13, 331–437.Google Scholar
Saunders, M.F. and McFarlane, G.A. (1993) Age and length at maturity of the female spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. Environmental Biology of Fishes 38, 49–57.Google Scholar
Seck, A.A., Diatta, Y., Diop, M., Guélorget, O., Reynaud, C. and Capapé, C. (2004) Observations on the reproductive biology of the blackchin guitarfish, Rhinobatos cemiculus E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817 (Chondrichthyes, Rhinobatidae) from the coast of Senegal (eastern tropical Atlantic). Scientia Gerudensis 27, 19–30.Google Scholar
Seco Pon, J.P. and Gandini, P.A. (2007) Bycatch of the piked dogfish Squalus acanthias Linné 1758 (Chondrichthyes, Squalidae) in semi-pelagic longline fisheries at the Patagonian Shelf. Investigaciones Marinas Valparaiso 35, 85–88.Google Scholar
Stenberg, C. (2006) Life history of the piked dogfish (Squalus acanthias L.) in Swedish waters. Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science 35, 145–154.Google Scholar
Stevens, J.D. and McLoughlin, K.J. (1991) Distribution, size and sex composition, reproductive biology and diet of sharks from northern Australia. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 42, 151–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, G. and Smale, M.J. (1998) Reproductive biology of shortnose spiny dogfish, Squalus megalops, from the Agulhas Bank, South Africa. Marine and Freshwater Research 49, 695–703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar