Corresponding author: Linh Manh Ha ( hamanhlinhtbu@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Rodolfo Reyes
© 2021 Hau Duc Tran, Anh Thi Nguyen, Nam Hoang Chu, Trang Thi Huyen Nguyen, Thuy Thi Ta, Hung Phuc Nguyen, Long Van Pham, Linh Manh Ha.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Tran HD, Nguyen AT, Chu NH, Nguyen TTH, Ta TT, Nguyen HP, Pham LV, Ha LM (2021) Length–weight relations of 11 goby species (Actinopterygii: Gobiiformes) from mangroves along the Ba Lat estuary of the Red River, Vietnam. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 51(3): 271-274. https://doi.org/10.3897/aiep.51.64918
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Presently reported study examined the length–weight relations for 11 goby species collected from a mangrove estuary of the Red River, Vietnam. A total of 1097 individuals of the following species, representing three goby families, were analyzed: Butis butis (Hamilton, 1822); Butis koilomatodon (Bleeker, 1849); Acentrogobius moloanus (Herre, 1927); Acentrogobius viridipunctatus (Valenciennes, 1837); Apocryptodon madurensis (Bleeker, 1849); Aulopareia unicolor (Valenciennes, 1837); Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton, 1822); Gobiopsis macrostoma Steindachner, 1861; Mugilogobius abei (Jordan et Snyder, 1901); Tridentiger barbatus (Günther, 1861); and Tridentiger trigonocephalus (Gill, 1859). The regression slope values (b) ranged from 2.909 to 3.621. The majority of species had positive allometric or isometric growth pattern with b ≥ 3, except for only one species (G. giuris) which had a negative allometric growth with b = 2.909. This study provided the first LWR information of four gobies that have not been reported in FishBase yet. Besides, the reference for LWRs of other gobies at an ecologically important area like Ba Lat Estuary is also provided.
gobies, length–weight relations, LWRs, Xuan Thuy National Park
The length–weight relation (LWR) of fishes is a crucial tool for fishery management, used to quantify the biomass while assessing the population dynamics and inferring the impact of the environment on fish (
The Ba Lat Estuary, composed of well-developed mangrove forests of Xuan Thuy National Park and Tien Hai Wetland Nature Reserve, is an estuary with diverse biotopes. It is the habitat for many wild species, including some rare migration birds and many fishes (
This study intended to provide necessary information on LWRs for a better management of fishery resources in the area of Ba Lat Estuary.
Fishes were collected monthly using hand nets and eight-hole fishing nets at Xuan Thuy National Park from March 2018 to February 2019 and Tien Hai Wetland Nature Reserve from March 2019 to February 2020 (Fig.
The LWRs were estimated using the following formula:
W = aTLb
where W is total body weight [g], TL the total length [cm], a is the regression intercept, and b is the slope. The values of a and b were obtained from linear regression analysis using the natural logarithm of the variables, i.e., lnW = lna + b×lnTL (
A total of 1097 specimens belonging to 3 families (Butidae, Gobiidae, Oxudercidae), and representing 11 species were examined: Butis butis (Hamilton, 1822); Butis koilomatodon (Bleeker, 1849); Acentrogobius moloanus (Herre, 1927); Acentrogobius viridipunctatus (Valenciennes, 1837); Apocryptodon madurensis (Bleeker, 1849); Aulopareia unicolor (Valenciennes, 1837); Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton, 1822); Gobiopsis macrostoma Steindachner, 1861; Mugilogobius abei (Jordan et Snyder, 1901); Tridentiger barbatus (Günther, 1861); and Tridentiger trigonocephalus (Gill, 1859). Table
LWR parameters for 11 goby species collected from mangroves along Ba Lat Estuary, Vietnam.
Family/Species | n | Total length [cm] | Weight [g] | Regression parameters |
b (in FishBase) |
Length [cm] (on FishBase) | |||||
a | 95% CI of a | b | 95% CI of b | b compare to 3 (P, t-test) | r 2 | ||||||
Butidae | |||||||||||
Butis butis | 18 | 6.78–12.20 | 2.7–22.6 | 0.003 | 0.001–0.007 | 3.621 | 3.180–4.061 | 0.008 | 0.950 | 3.0001 | 8.6 TL1 |
Butis koilomatodon | 65 | 3.96–9.24 | 0.8–12.8 | 0.010 | 0.006–0.016 | 3.208 | 2.936–3.480 | 0.132 | 0.898 | 3.2602 | 1.4–5.1 SL2 |
Gobiidae | |||||||||||
Acentrogobius moloanus | 36 | 5.77–8.17 | 1.2–5.9 | 0.003 | 0.001–0.010 | 3.408 | 2.816–3.999 | 0.170 | 0.801 | — | — |
Acentrogobius viridipunctatus | 109 | 2.34–13.75 | 1.8–29.3 | 0.008 | 0.006–0.010 | 3.164 | 3.067–3.262 | 0.001 | 0.975 | 3.2301 | 4.3–12.3 TL1 |
Apocryptodon madurensis | 188 | 4.58–8.94 | 0.7–7.0 | 0.005 | 0.004–0.007 | 3.266 | 3.098–3.433 | 0.002 | 0.888 | — | — |
Aulopareia unicolor | 196 | 4.43–10.74 | 0.8–15.8 | 0.004 | 0.003–0.006 | 3.451 | 3.298–3.605 | < 0.001 | 0.910 | — | — |
Glossogobius giuris | 270 | 5.81–27.00 | 1.4–162.0 | 0.009 | 0.008–0.011 | 2.909 | 2.843–2.974 | < 0.001 | 0.966 | 2.682–3.2983 | 2.3–23.6 TL3 |
Gobiopsis macrostoma | 56 | 5.35–9.90 | 1.7–12.0 | 0.005 | 0.003–0.009 | 3.391 | 3.144–3.637 | 0.002 | 0.934 | — | — |
Oxudercidae | |||||||||||
Mugilogobius abei | 43 | 1.54–3.20 | 0.04–0.33 | 0.009 | 0.008–0.010 | 3.240 | 3.096–3.383 | 0.002 | 0.981 | 2.8761 | 1.2–5.0 TL1 |
Tridentiger barbatus | 53 | 3.56–9.16 | 0.5–10.1 | 0.006 | 0.003–0.010 | 3.416 | 3.137–3.695 | < 0.001 | 0.922 | 3.2374 | 3.5–10.4 SL4 |
Tridentiger trigonocephalus | 63 | 5.21–8.88 | 1.4–10.3 | 0.008 | 0.004–0.015 | 3.291 | 2.949–3.633 | 0.094 | 0.859 | 3.0001 | 2.3 TL1 |
The coefficients of determination r2 ranged from 0.801 (for A. moloanus) to 0.981 (for M. abei). All 11 examined species had r2 larger than 0.800 and were highly significant (P < 0.001 for all cases). The estimated values of intercepts (a value) ranged from 0.003 (B. butis and A. moloanus) to 0.010 (B. koilomatodon). The values of parameter b ranged from 2.909 for G. giuris to 3.621 for B. butis (Table
The LWRs of A. moloanus, A. madurensis, A. unicolor, and G. macrostoma were hitherto not available in FishBase (
Additionally, the maximum lengths of A. moloanus (8.17 cm) and A. unicolor (10.74 cm) at present were longer than those reported on FishBase as 8.0 cm and 8.8 cm, respectively (
This study also reported supplementary information on LWRs of the remaining species, in which the b values of B. koilomatodon (3.208), A. viridipunctatus (3.165), G. giuris (2.909), and T. barbatus (3.416) were quite similar to the b value listed on FishBase presented in Table
Concerning the growth type, our result showed that only one species had negative allometric growth (b < 3, P < 0.01), three species had isometric growth (b = 3, P > 0.05 for all cases), seven species had positive allometric growth (b > 3, P < 0.01 for all cases). The positive allometric growth indicates that fish grow in body weight faster than growth in body length, and fish will possess a plump shape as they grow. At this same study area, we also observed the positive allometric growth for another goby namely Periophthamus modestus with general b = 3.094 (
We wish to express our gratitude to Mr Binh, a local fisherman, for his support in collecting samples and the Fish Lab members who helped in measuring samples. This work was financially supported by the Nagao Natural Environment Foundation (Japan) and the Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam, through the B2019-SPH-05 project.