The First Data about Otolith Dimensions-Fish Length Relationships of Wels catfish, (Silurus glanis L., 1758)

OpenAlex İngilizce

The relationships between dimensions of the asteriscus and lapillus and fish length for Wels catfish, collected from Sıddıklı Dam Lake between September 2015 and August 2016, are presented. No significant differences were noted between the dimensions of the left and right otoliths, and between otolith dimensions of male and female. For analyses, the right-side data of otoliths were used regardless of sex. The strongest correlation coefficient was obtained from the linear model for all relationships. Thus, a linear model was used for determining relationships. The r2 values of relationships between asteriscus dimensions and total length were more appropriate than relationships between lapillus dimensions and total length. Asteriscus height was more suitable than other otolith dimensions for predicting the length of Wels catfish. Results provided the first information on relationships between total length and otolith dimensions of Wels catfish. These relationships from this study can provide a reliable tool to reconstruct the predator diet, and to estimate the size of the prey, as well as also provide support to paleontologists in their research on fish fossils.