Stock structure analysis of Upeneus vittatus based on morphometric, meristic and otolith shape analysis along the Indian coast.

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the stock structure of Upeneus vittatus from the Indian waters based on morphometric, meristic and otolith shape analysis. A total of 197 specimens were collected during ‘2018–2019’ from the three landing centres (Mumbai, Kakinada, and Puri) along the Indian coast and otolith from each specimen were removed carefully. The contours of each otolith were investigated using the quantitative shape analysis software package ShapeR and Wavelet transform analysis model. The otolith contours were further processed for multivariate methods such as canonical analysis of principal component (CAP) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The CAP results showed that wavelet transform methods effectively extract otolith shape contours. The LDA of Wavelet coefficients showed an overall correct classification of 77.1%. A total of 20 morphometric and 10 meristic traits were extracted and subjected to statistical analysis. Factor analysis (FA) of morphometric variables shows first three factors together contribute 85.38% of the total variation. The first and second factors exhibited significant variation on the pre-pelvic length, Pre- pectoral length, Head length, preorbital length, caudal peduncle length and preorbital length of the fish body. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) shows correct classification rate of 69.04%. Meristic characters do not show significant variation among the sampled locations. Our findings suggest the existence of two different stocks of U. vittatus along the Indian coast. We need to adopt different management strategies for sustainable exploitation of the resources. The study recommends that otolith shape analysis is an efficient phenotypic marker to assess the stock structure of fishes than morphometric analysis.