Morphometric and meristic characteristics of Hemiculter leucisculus (Teleostei:Cypryniformes) population in the Haraz River Basin (Southern Caspian Sea)

Abstract

Morphometric and meristic characteristics of Hemiculter leucisculus population were studied in the Haraz River ecosystem in spring 2021, examining 27 morphometric and 10 meristic characteristics on 100 fish caught using a gillnet. According to the results, the mean coefficients of variation were 18.144% and 10.548% in females and 17.669% and 10.714% in males for morphometric and meristic characteristics, respectively. Morphometric data were standardized before analyses to reduce the error due to allometric growth. In morphometric variables, ten factors were separated, representing 73.831% of the phenotypic variations; further, three factors were selected from meristic variables, denoting 62.838% of the phenotypic variations. The results of t-test analyses showed significant differences in 3 morphometric characteristics out of 34 morphometric and meristic characteristics of male and female fish (P≤0.05). There was an overlap between the results obtained by Principal Component Analysis concerning morphometric and meristic characteristics of male and female fish, making it impossible to separate these two sexes according to the studied characteristics.