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Spatial and annual distribution of age structure in the Tunisian populations of European clams Venerupis decussata

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Abstract

This study was carried out on the natural populations of Venerupis decussata from two Tunisian lagoons (North and Boughrara). Dynamics and morphological structures, growth and age characteristics of these clams were determined. Additionally, condition (CI) and gonadic (GI) indices were monthly determined from both populations. These indices were used as a tool in the determination of the harvesting period of this species which seems to be linked to the spring season. Our data showed that the dominant length ranged from 28.96 to 37.18 mm, while weight ranged from 17.91 to 20.98 and width ranged from 4.56 to 5.59 for both populations collected, respectively, from North Lagoon and Boughrara Lagoon. The morphological relationships indicated hypoallometry and hyperallometry between weight (2.347 ≤ b ≤ 2.816) and length (0.644 ≤ b ≤ 0.912), respectively. The marginal examination implied that only one growth increment was formed per year mainly during the summer season. The age class ranged from one to sixth with the dominance of the five age groups in the population of Boughrara as compared to the North Lagoon population, which reached the sixth age group. According to our results, the von Bertalanffy growth parameters were assumed and estimated to K 0.3 and 0.4 year−1 and L∞ 41 and 37.09 mm for the North and Boughrara populations, respectively. Furthermore, the growth performance index (Φ), age precision examination (IAPE), coefficient of age variation (CV) and annual growth rate (Gx) were assessed revealing that North population has a better growth rate as compared to the Boughrara one.

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Data availability

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

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the laboratory of Ecology, Biology and Physiology of Aquatic organisms, Faculty of Sciences, University of Tunis El Manar and the National institute of aquatic Sciences and Technology (INSTM), La Goulette.

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  1. Feriel Ghribi and Imene Chetoui contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Ecology, Biology and Physiology of Aquatic Organisms, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences of Tunisia, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia

    Safa Bejaoui, Inès Chater, Feriel Ghribi, Imene Chetoui & Mhamed El Cafsi

  2. National institute of aquatic Sciences and Technology, La goulette, Tunis, Tunisia

    Ines Houas-Gharsallah

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  1. Safa Bejaoui
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Contributions

Safa Bejaoui: Investigation, Formal Analysis and Writing, Original Draft Preparation, Conceptualization, Methodology and Writing, Review and Editing; Ines Chater: Formal Analysis and Writing, Investigation, Original Draft Preparation, and Writing, Review and Editing, Feriel Ghribi: Methodology, Investigation and Original Draft Preparation, Imene Chetoui: Methodology, Investigation and Original Draft Preparation, Ines Houas-Gharsallah: Conceptualization, Methodology and Writing, Review and Editing, Mhamed EL Cafsi: Conceptualization, Methodology and Writing, Review and Editing.

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Correspondence to Safa Bejaoui.

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Bejaoui, S., Chater, I., Ghribi, F. et al. Spatial and annual distribution of age structure in the Tunisian populations of European clams Venerupis decussata. Biologia 77, 691–707 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-021-00986-5

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