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Biological parameters of the High-Antarctic icefish, Cryodraco antarcticus (Channichthyidae) from the South Shetland Islands

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Abstract

Despite their wide distribution around the Antarctic continent, the life strategies of the long-fingered icefish Cryodraco antarcticus have been rarely investigated and are not well understood. The aim of this paper was to provide more insights on the demographic characteristics of the population living off the South Shetland Islands, focusing attention on key biological traits such as age and growth and the reproductive cycle. Individual age and reproductive status were assessed through the microstructural analyses of sagittal otoliths and histological analysis of gonads, respectively. The sex-balanced sampled population consisted of juvenile and adult fishes covering a wide size range. Both sexes had positive allometric growth, although males exhibited smaller maximum size and lower body condition than females. Fish longevity was comparable between sexes, being 16 and 18 years in males and females, respectively. Applying the von Bertalanffy growth model to length-at-age estimates, males consistently reached lower maximum asymptotic size at a faster rate than females. Based on the gametogenic process, the spawning period was inferred to occur from late summer to early autumn. As commonly found in icefishes, females devoted a great investment to reproduction as gonadosomatic index, egg size, and fecundity. A single female (62 cm TL) spawned about 7730 eggs as large as 3–4 mm. Considering also the results of previous studies conducted in other areas, this species is characterized by a long-lasting pelagic juvenile phase and adults share similar life strategies across the range of their spatial distribution, suggesting the possibility of a single panmictic circum-Antarctic population.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all of the crew members and personnel aboard RV Polarstern and the RV Yuzhmorgeologiya during the relevant cruises, for their valuable support during field sampling activities. We are much indebted to Richard L. O’Driscoll and an anonymous reviewer, whose comments greatly improved the early draft of the manuscript. This study was financially supported by the Italian National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA) within the Project 2013/C1.07.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Scienze Polari (ISP), CNR, c/o Area della Ricerca di Bologna, Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy

    Mario La Mesa

  2. Istituto per le Risorse Biologiche e le Biotecnologie Marine (IRBIM), CNR, sede di Ancona, Largo Fiera della Pesca, 60125, Ancona, Italy

    Federico Calì

  3. Dipartimento di Ecologia Marina Integrata, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121, Napoli, Italy

    Emilio Riginella

  4. Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Padova, Via U. Bassi 58/B, 35131, Padova, Italy

    Carlotta Mazzoldi

  5. Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA

    Christopher D. Jones

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  1. Mario La Mesa
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  2. Federico Calì
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Correspondence to Mario La Mesa.

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La Mesa, M., Calì, F., Riginella, E. et al. Biological parameters of the High-Antarctic icefish, Cryodraco antarcticus (Channichthyidae) from the South Shetland Islands. Polar Biol 43, 143–155 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-019-02617-x

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