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Ontogenetic development, allometric growth patterns, and daily increment validation of larvae and juvenile Culter alburnus

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Abstract

Fish ontogeny, allometric growth patterns, and otolith microstructure are fundamental in aquaculture and essential for understanding the early-life ecology of fish. Culter alburnus is a commercially important fish species and an excellent breeding target for aquaculture. In this study, newly hatched C. alburnus larvae were reared to the juvenile stage in a hatchery. Three days post hatch, the eyes, mouth, and intestine had developed, and the larval yolk sac had been completely absorbed. Fin rays started to differentiate in the flexion stage and were fully developed by the postflexion stage. Pigmentations were well developed in the juveniles. Culter alburnus larvae were characterized by 39–43 myomeres and 23–25 anal fin rays, swim bladder shape, and pigmentation. Head length, height, and musculature height showed positive allometric growth patterns, suggesting that head and trunk growth was prioritized. Positive allometric growth of the tail was simultaneous with the formation of fins, suggesting that swimming mode transformation, diet changes, and habitat shifts occurred after the start of the postflexion stage. Otolith growth increments in both the sagittae and lapilli were deposited daily, with the first increment formed on day 1 on the sagittae and day 4 of yolk sac absorption on the lapilli. Increments were thin and faint during the early developmental stage, gradually increasing to reach the broadest widths and the strongest contrast at the postflexion stage, which may be related to habitat shifts. This information will assist in the breeding and hatchery production of C. alburnus and establish suitable methods for analyzing this species’ spatiotemporal distributions and early-life traits.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We express sincere thanks to the Dongting Lake Fish Breeding Farm for providing specimens.

Funding

This research was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China by the Young People Grant program (32002394) and Education Department of Hunan Province by the Outstanding Young People Grant program (20B403).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life and Environmental Science, Hunan University of Arts and Science, Dongting Main Street 3150, Wuling District, Changde, China

    Yan F. Huang, Bo L. Song & Liang G. Liu

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center for Efficient and Health Production of Fisheries, Hunan University of Arts and Science, Dongting Main Street 3150, Wuling District, Changde, Hunan Province, China

    Yan F. Huang & Bo L. Song

  3. Key Laboratory of Health Aquaculture and Product Processing in Dongting Lake Area of Hunan Province, Dongting Main Street 3150, Wuling District, Changde, China

    Tao H. Deng, Qin Wang & Qi Shen

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  1. Yan F. Huang
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Contributions

Huang conceived the ideas and designed the methodology; Huang, Deng, Wang, and Shen collected the data and analyzed the data; Huang, Song, and Liu led the writing of the manuscript; all authors contributed critically to the drafts and gave final approval for publication.

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Correspondence to Yan F. Huang.

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The present study complied with current animal laws in China.

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Huang, Y.F., Song, B.L., Deng, T.H. et al. Ontogenetic development, allometric growth patterns, and daily increment validation of larvae and juvenile Culter alburnus. Environ Biol Fish 104, 1593–1610 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01181-w

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