Naslov
A contribution to understanding the ecology of the large spot barbel - sexual dimorphism, growth and population structure of Barbus balcanicus (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae) in central Croatia

Autori
Žutinić, Petar ; Jelić, Dušan ; Jelić, Mišel ; Buj, Ivana

Izvornik
North-Western journal of zoology (1584-9074) 10 (2013), 1; 158-166

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
Barbus balcanicus; central Croatia; ecology; morphometry; growth; age structure

Sažetak
Recent morphological and genetic studies on the genus Barbus in the Danube basin area (Kotlík et al. 2002) have led to division within the Barbus petenyi species complex and description of a new species, Barbus balcanicus. As a contribution to a better understanding of ecology of this newly described species, during 2007 authors studied the age structure, growth rate and sexual dimorphism in the population from the Ilova River basin. The overall sex ratio in the population was close to expected 1:1. Age estimation of captured specimens identified males aged 0-2 years and females aged 0-3 years. Length and weight change over age shows that there is no difference in growth rate between males and females. The population age structure suggest that females live longer (3+) than males (2+), thus explaining the sexual dimorphism in the body size. Males reach sexual maturity at around 67 mm of the total length (TL) and females at approximately 82 mm TL. Mean condition factor (Kmean) for all age classes is high (~1.2-1.3) and shows similar values. The results from unpaired two-tailed t-tests for all 26 morphometric characters show statistically significant differences between males and females (p<0.001). However, when comparing the morphometric ratios, 9 out of 28 have shown statistically significant differences (6 ratios with p<0.001 ; 3 ratios with p<0.005.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija

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