Utility of Meristic and Morphometric Characters for Identification of Capelin (Mallotus villosus) Stocks in Canadian Atlantic Waters

Abstract

Multivariate discriminant function analyses were performed on 9 morphometric and 11 meristic characters of capelin (Mallotus villosus) samples at Île aux Coudres in the St. Lawrence estuary; Sept Îles, Natashquan, and Grande Rivière in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; Southeast Shoal on the Grand Banks; and Herring Neck, Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland. Analyses of meristic characters provided no evidence of discrete stocks. Analyses of morphometric characters provided strong statistical separation between areas. A posteriori classification of groups yielded 93.1% correct classification for males and 73.3% for females. Only snout length, eye diameter, head length, and body depth contributed significantly to the separation obtained. These findings suggest that meristic characters offer little potential for stock identification in Canadian Atlantic waters. Morphometric characters may prove useful, but further study, corroborated with life history and migration data, is required to confirm this. Key words: capelin, Mallotus villosus, meristics, morphometrics, stock separation, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, Canadian Atlantic, multivariate analysis