Abstract
A total of 426 specimens of Mesopotamian barb (Siahmahi) Capoeta damascina (Cyprinidae) were caught by gillnets (1–6 cm mesh sizes) from Beheshtabad River, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province from May 2013 to June 2014. Fish specimens were anesthetized in 1% clove oil solution, fixed in 10% buffered formalin and transported to the laboratory for further analyses. Fork lengths of the sampled fish ranged from 8.94 cm to 42.45 (23.32±6.53SD) cm and total weight from 10.3 to 1255.5 (242.5±213.4) g. Based on scale readings, the maximum age was found to be 7+ years for males and 8+ for females. Six reproductive characteristics, viz: sex ratio, Gonadosomatic Index (GSI), Hepatosomatic Index (HSI), relative fecundity, absolute fecundity and ova diameter were determined. The smallest mature male and female were 11.2 and 18.5 cm in fork length respectively. Sex ratio was 1M:0.7F. The GSI showed that spawning occurred from March to June. Oocyte diameters ranged from 0.57 to 2.48 (1.30±0.41) mm. Absolute fecundity ranged between 2260 and 51770 (15360±12030) eggs. Absolute fecundity and fish size (fork length and total weight) were highly correlated. Relative fecundity varied from 11 to 65 (33±12) eggs per gram of total body weight. The average hepatosomatic index was 2.25 ± 0.05 and the highest value was observed in March (3.05 ± 0.31).
Highlights
Parasites, scale structure, age, growth and reproduction characteristics of the mesopotamian barb in the Middle East waters have been studied extensively (Khalaf 1987; Stoumboudi et al 1993; Fishelson et al 1996; Abdoli & Mostafavi 2009; Soofiani & Asadollah 2010; Asadollah et al 2011; Jalali & Miar 2011; Samaee & Patzner 2011; Marammazi et al 2014; Razavipour et al 2015a, b; Asadollah et al 2017), little is known on reproduction of this fish in Karun River basin such as Beheshtabad River, where Mesopotamian barb is mainly caught for consumption
Gharache (2008) in a Qanat of southern Isfahan and Stoumboudi et al (1993) in Jordan River reported similar results. This ratio for C. damascina in other areas were in favour of females (Mazaheri 2007; Soofiani and Asadollah 2010; Asadollah et al 2011)
Differences in sex ratio might be related to the interspecific differences in adapted population of a species to different ecological conditions, different in the date and time of capture, fishing gear, location, different growth rates and different mortalities in males and females, migration of mature fishes from the region and different behavior pattern in male and female fish (Qasim 1966; Fishelson et al 1996; Keivany and Soofiani 2004; Soofiani et al 2006; Asadollah et al 2011; Keivany et al 2012; Abaszadeh et al 2013; Tabatabaei et al 2014; Keivany and Daneshvar 2015)
Summary
The cyprinid fish, Siahmahi or Mesopotamian barb, Capoeta damascina (Valenciennes, 1842), is a very abundant native fish in Iran (Keivany et al 2016) and other countries in Middle East such as southern and eastern parts of Turkey, the eastern Mediterranean coast of Syria, Lebanon and coastal rivers of Palestine (Khalaf 1987; Krupp and Schneider 1989; Stoumboudi et al 1993; Fishelson et al 1996; Schöter et al 2009). C. damascina is a strong counter-current swimmer, capable of jumping very strongly and rapidly (Fishelson et al 1996). Parasites, scale structure, age, growth and reproduction characteristics of the mesopotamian barb in the Middle East waters have been studied extensively (Khalaf 1987; Stoumboudi et al 1993; Fishelson et al 1996; Abdoli & Mostafavi 2009; Soofiani & Asadollah 2010; Asadollah et al 2011; Jalali & Miar 2011; Samaee & Patzner 2011; Marammazi et al 2014; Razavipour et al 2015a, b; Asadollah et al 2017), little is known on reproduction of this fish in Karun River basin such as Beheshtabad River, where Mesopotamian barb is mainly caught for consumption.
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