Basic Biological Aspects of Dormitator maculatus “Naca” (Bloch, 1792) from the Alvarado Lagoon in Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract

D. maculatus is an artisanal fishing resource of great economic and gastronomic importance in the area, although its annual availability is erratic due to the deterioration and contamination of its habitat, in addition to poor management of its fishery; the latter because it is easily captured during its breeding season. Basic biological aspects of D. maculatus were estimated, such as size composition, sex ratio, and type of growth. A total of 700 organisms, 364 males and 336 females, were collected and analyzed during 12 continuous months. As a result, sizes between 4.4 to 17.0 cm were obtained, averaging 10.2 cm. The most common length range in females was 8.1 - 9.0 cm and 9.1-10.0 cm in males. The annual sex ratio was 1M: 0.87F; with significant differences from July to October (2M:1F) and January (1M:2F). It was observed that the species tends to form aggregations, however, it maintains a 1M:1F ratio in the remaining period. The length-weight relationship parameters show that D. maculatus presents positive allometric growth (r2 = 0.93452) for both sexes. Males were slightly larger and heavier than females. The minimum size of sexual maturity obtained was Lm50 = 8.21 and 8.41 cm for females and males, respectively.