Queen triggerfish Balistes vetula: Validation of otolith-based age, growth, and longevity estimates via application of bomb radiocarbon.

Virginia R Shervette,Jesús M Rivera Hernández,John A B Claydon

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0262281

Virginia R Shervette, Jesús M Rivera Hernández + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262281

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Abstract

Ensuring the accuracy of age estimation in fisheries science through validation is an essential step in managing species for long-term sustainable harvest. The current study used Δ14 C in direct validation of age estimation for queen triggerfish Balistes vetula and conclusively documented that triggerfish sagittal otoliths provide more accurate and precise age estimates relative to dorsal spines. Caribbean fish samples (n = 2045) ranged in size from 67–473 mm fork length (FL); 23 fish from waters of the southeastern U.S. (SEUS) Atlantic coast ranged in size from 355–525 mm FL. Otolith-based age estimates from Caribbean fish range from 0–23 y, dorsal spine-based age estimates ranged from 1–14 y. Otolith-based age estimates for fish from the SEUS ranged from 8–40 y. Growth function estimates from otoliths in the current study (L∞ = 444, K = 0.13, t0 = -1.12) differed from spined-derived estimates in the literature. Our work indicates that previously reported maximum ages for Balistes species based on spine-derived age estimates may underestimate longevity of these species since queen triggerfish otolith-based ageing extended maximum known age for the species by nearly three-fold (14 y from spines versus 40 y from otoliths). Future research seeking to document age and growth population parameters of Balistes species should strongly consider incorporating otolith-based ageing in the research design.

Highlights

The primary goal of fisheries management is to ensure the long-term sustainable harvest of species while at the same time balancing the cultural, economic, and food security needs of a jurisdiction
Perfect agreement for spine age estimates occurred for 52% of the samples; 78% were within 1 y and 90% were within 2 y
Our findings support previously published work on gray triggerfish that demonstrated sagittae provided more precise age estimates compared to spines [14] and that otolith-based ages may provide a more accurate representation of population growth parameters

Summary

Introduction

The primary goal of fisheries management is to ensure the long-term sustainable harvest of species while at the same time balancing the cultural, economic, and food security needs of a jurisdiction. This is often achieved through a relatively complex and scientifically rigorous stock assessment process that results in management recommendations. One of the most important inputs for this involves documenting the age structure of a stock [1,2,3]. Population age structure informs estimates of maturity, mortality, sexual transition for sequential hermaphroditic species, and predictions of lifetime reproductive output [4,5,6,7].

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