Age and growth of the nakedband gaper, Champsodon nudivittis (Ogilby, 1895), from the Iskenderun Bay, Northeastern Mediterranean

Abstract

The nakedband gaper Champsodon nudivittis (Ogilby, 1895) was first recorded in 2009 on Turkish coastal waters, and has rapidly increased around this region. C. nudivittis is the first lessepsian immigrant of Champsodontid species in the Turkish coastal waters. The present study aims to determine the age and growth parameters of C. nudivittis colonized in the Iskenderun Bay, North-eastern Mediterranean Sea. A total of 296 collected individuals (seasonally average 74 specimens) were studied from November 2011 to October 2012. Total specimen lengths and weights ranged from 6.00 to 14.40 cm and from 1.4 to 29.3 g respectively. Maximum age was 2 years for both sexes. The length-weight relationship was described as W= 0.0040 x L-3.207 (R-2 = 0.957)5 W= 0.0005 x L-3.158 (R-2 = 0.959) and W= 0.0040 x L-3.196 (R-2 = 0.955). The parameters of von Bertalanffy growth fitted to mean observed total lengths-at-age for each sex separately and estimated as L-infinity= 20.41 cm, K= 0.224 year(-1), t(0)= -2.491 year for females,L-infinity= 21.53 cm, K= 0.199 year(-1), t(0)= -2.154 year for males, and as L-infinity= 21.10 cm, K= 0.210 year(-1), t(0)= -2.639 year for combined sexes.