Somatic growth and otolith growth in juveniles of a small subtropical flatfish, the fringed flounder, Etropus crossotus

A growth experiment was conducted with juvenile fringed flounder (Etropus c rossotus) from North Inlet (South Carolina, USA) to provide information on the growth of a small, shortlived Ratfish with a subtropical and tropical d istribution. The fringed flounder has a maximum life span of 1.5 y and its long spawning period From March through October complicates the determinati on of growth rates based on length frequency data. Otoliths of juveniles wi th a standard length (SL) 23.1-53.0 mm were marked with Alizarin complexone and the fish were held in the laboratory for 66 days at 14, 20, 24 and 29 degreesC while being fed ad libitum. The mean somatic growth increased with temperature from 0.1 mm SL day(-1) at 14 degreesC to 0.3 mm SL day(-1) at both 24 and 29 degreesC. The maximum observed somatic growth rate was 0.7 m m SL day(1) at 29 degreesC. The number of micro-increments formed in otolit hs was not significantly different from the expected value, validating form ation of one increment per day. The significant relationship between increm ent width and somatic growth rate can be used to estimate Somatic growth ra tes of individual wild fish based on daily increment information in their o toliths. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.