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Early life history of the ocellated icefish, Chionodraco rastrospinosus, off the Antarctic Peninsula

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2013

Mario La Mesa ,
Barbara Catalano  and
Christopher D. Jones
Mario La Mesa*
Affiliation:
ISMAR-CNR, Istituto di Scienze Marine, Sede di Ancona, Largo Fiera della Pesca, 60125 Ancona, Italy
Barbara Catalano
Affiliation:
ISPRA, Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Via di Casalotti 300, 00166 Roma, Italy
Christopher D. Jones
Affiliation:
Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
*
m.lamesa@ismar.cnr.it
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Abstract

Age, growth and feeding habits of early life stages of Chionodraco rastrospinosus Dewitt & Hureau, the most abundant channichthyid in the larval fish assemblages of the Bransfield Strait, were studied by otolith microincrement counts and stomach content analyses. Individuals measuring 39–69 mm standard length were caught in the uppermost depth strata down to 300 m from Brabant to Joinville islands along the northern Antarctic Peninsula. The sample consisted of post-larvae and juveniles aged 105–211 days, with a mean growth rate of 0.25 mm day-1. Larval size at hatching was estimated to be c. 17.2 mm. Hatching was spread over a relatively long period from August–November. Sagittal otoliths were characterized by a strong check located at 23–52 microincrements of distance from the core, tentatively associated with the onset of first exogenous feeding. The relatively long period during which larvae can rely on yolk reserves and the large size at hatching enable them to utilize a wide size range of prey, as well as cope with occasional food shortages. The stomach contents consisted exclusively of euphausiids (furcilia and adults) and larvae of Pleuragramma antarcticum Boulenger. Based on growth rate, the residence time in pelagic waters of juvenile C. rastrospinosus was estimated to be about a year and a half.

Keywords

age and growthBransfield Straitchannichthyidsfeedinglarval stagesSouthern Ocean
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , June 2013 , pp. 373 - 380
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2013 

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