Abstract

We analyzed mantle length and age data of the whole ontogenic cycle of the jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas in the Gulf of California, Mexico, to describe its growth pattern. Several individual growth models that included asymptotic and non-asymptotic patterns were fitted to the data, and Akaike’s information criterion and multimodel inference were used to identify the model that best fit the data. The length-at-age data were divided into males and females (recruits and adults) for analysis separately and then combined to assess the overall growth pattern. The Schnute general model (ρ≠0, η≠0, where ρis the constant relative rate of the relative growth rate, ηis the incremental relative rate of the relative growth rate) was the function that best described the growth of females, males and both sexes of D. gigas together. For females, the Akaike difference and Akaike weight were 0 and 0.91, respectively; for males, the Akaike difference was also 0, but the Akaike weight was 0.39, showing that alternative growth models could explain the individual growth; these growth models were the Gompertz (L0, length at time zero), Gompertz (L∞, asymptotic length) and Schnute (ρ≠0, η = 0) models. We estimated the age and mantle length at which the growth rate changes for both sexes, estimating an age of 162.36 d (separately, 167.51 d for females and 158.98 d for males), and a length of 299.52mm for the growth inflection point (separately, 312.84 mm for females and 292.86 mm for males). Once D. gigas reaches this point, the species exhibits more gradual growth until reaching an asymptotic mantle length of 859.45 mm (for females, 904.80 mm, and for males, 828.49 mm). A comparison of the growth patterns of D. gigas reported in the Eastern Pacific indicated nonasymptotic growth of this species in the Humboldt Current and Costa Rica Dome; in contrast, asymptotic growth was identified for the western coast of Baja California and Gulf of California. The reason for this difference is unclear, and this issue will be a topic of future studies.

Highlights

  • The jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas (d’Orbigny, 1835) is widely distributed in the Eastern Pacific, ranging from Alaska to Chile (Cosgrove 2005, Wing 2006, Zeidberg & Robison 2007)

  • A total of 348 samples of the jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas were captured in the central Gulf of California and analyzed

  • The cephalopods have a 2-phase pattern of growth; the growth of this group of organisms has been represented by different mathematical functions of individual growth (Grist & Jackson 2004)

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Summary

Introduction

The jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas (d’Orbigny, 1835) is widely distributed in the Eastern Pacific, ranging from Alaska to Chile (Cosgrove 2005, Wing 2006, Zeidberg & Robison 2007). In Mexico, most commercial catches of jumbo squid are harvested from the central Gulf of California (Fig. 1). In the Gulf of California, the jumbo squid is considered an important commercial resource. Several studies have been conducted to understand the population dynamics of this species. These studies have provided information on the distribution and abundance of the squid in the Gulf of California (Nevárez-Martínez et al 2000) and migration patterns within the Guaymas Basin (Markaida et al 2005, Gilly et al 2006). Fishery management recommendations are based on biological reference points and variations in the recruitment pattern of this population (Hernández-Herrera et al 1998, Morales Bojórquez et al 2001b, 2001c, 2008, 2012, Nevárez-Martínez et al 2006, 2010)

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