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Ovarian weight as an index of fecundity, maturity, and spawning periodicity
Author(s) -
Jons G. D.,
Miranda L. E.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1997.tb01347.x
Subject(s) - dorosoma , fecundity , gizzard shad , biology , gonadosomatic index , zoology , population , ecology , fishery , predation , demography , fish <actinopterygii> , sociology
Ovarian weight and related indices such as gonadosomatic index were used to index fecundity, egg maturity, and spawning season in gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum . Individually, in simple regression, fecundity and mean egg volume each accounted for only about 50% of the variability in ovarian weight. Together, in multiple regression, fecundity and mean egg volume accounted for 86% of the variation in ovarian weight. The percentage of the variability in ovarian weight explained by each independent variable, while holding constant the value of the other independent variable (partial coefficient of determination), was 72% for fecundity and 78% for mean egg volume. Thus, ovarian weight of gizzard shad confounded information about fecundity and egg maturity and separately could not index them adequately. Attempts to remove the effect of fecundity, so that ovarian weight could serve as an index of maturity, and to remove the effect of egg size so that ovarian weight could serve as an index of fecundity, were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, seasonal oscillations of ovarian weight served as a crude indicator of population Spawning Season.