Bilin Liu

Age, Growth and Population Structure of Jumbo Flying Squid, Dosidicus Gigas, Based on Statolith Microstructure Off the Exclusive Economic Zone of Chilean Waters

The jumbo flying squid, Dosidicus gigas, support an important squid fishery off the Exclusive Economic Zone of Chilean waters. However, we only have limited information about their biology. In this study, age, growth and population structure of D. gigas were studied using statoliths from 533 specimens ( 3 86 females and 147 males) randomly sampled in the Chinese squid jigging surveys from 2007 to 2008 off the Exclusive Economic Zone of Chile. Mantle lengths (MLs) of the sample ranged from 20 6 to 702 mm, and their ages were estimated from 150 to 307 days for females and from 127 to 302 days for males. At least two spawning groups were identified, the main spawning peak tended to occur between August and November (austral spring group), and the secondary peak appeared during March to June (austral autumn group). The ML-age relationship was best modelled by a linear function for the austral spring group and a power function for the austral autumn group, and the body weight (BW)-age relationship was best described by an exponential function for both the groups. Instantaneous relative growth rates and absolute growth rates for ML and BW did not differ significantly between the two groups. The growth rate of D. gigas tended to be high at young stages, and then decreased after the sub-adult stage (>180 days old). This study suggests large spatial and temporal variability in key life history parameters of D. gigas, calling for the collection of more data with fine spatial and temporal scales to further improve our understanding of the fishery biology of D. gigas.

Age, maturation, and population structure of the Humboldt squid Dosidicus gigas off the Peruvian Exclusive Economic Zones

Age, maturation and population structure of the Humboldt squid Dosidicus gigas were studied based on random sampling of the Chinese jigging fishery off the Peruvian Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) during 2008–2010. Estimated ages ranged from 144 to 633 days, confirming that the squid is a short-lived species with longevity no longer than 2 years. Occurrence of mature females and hatching in each month indicated that Humboldt squid spawned year-round. Back-calculated hatching dates for the samples were from January 22nd, 2008 to April 22nd, 2010 with a peak between January and March. Two size-based and two hatching date-based populations could be defined from mantle length (ML) at maturity and back-calculated hatching dates, respectively. Females matured at a larger size than males, and there was a significant difference in ML at maturity between the two hatching groups (P <0.05). The waters adjacent to 11°S off the Peruvian EEZ may be a potential spawning ground. This study shows the complexity of the population structure and large variability in key life history parameters in the Humboldt squid off the Peruvian EEZ, which should be considered in the assessment and management of this important resource.

A comparison of fishery biology of jumbo flying squid, Dosidicus gigas outside three Exclusive Economic Zones in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

Although many studies on the fishery biology of jumbo flying squid, Dosidicus gigas, have been conducted in the coastal areas within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of various countries due to its commercial and ecological importance, limited biological information is available from waters outside these EEZs. In this paper, we examined D. gigas fishery biology from waters outside Chilean, Peruvian and Costa Rican EEZs, based on the fishery data collected by Chinese jigging vessels during 2006 to 2010. The dominant mantle lengths of D. gigas were 350–450 mm, 250–400 mm and 250–350 mm outside Chilean, Peruvian and Costa Rican EEZs, respectively. Size structure analysis show that a medium-sized group existed mostly in the waters outside the Chilean and Peruvian EEZs, whereas a small-sized group occurred mainly in the waters outside the Costa Rican EEZ. The longevity of the squid outside the Costa Rican EEZ was less than 10 months, while most of those outside Chilean and Peruvian EEZs were about 1–1.5 years and very few large individuals were 1.5–2 years old. A higher percentage of mature individuals existed outside Costa Rican EEZ implying the region as a potential spawning ground, while lower proportions of mature squid outside the Peruvian and Chilean EEZs indicated that spawning may be occurring outside our study area. Spatial differences in sizes at maturity of the squid are thought to be result from different environmental factors especially different temperature and nutrition among the three areas. Stomach-content analysis showed that cannibalism was important in the diet of D. gigas. Stress generated by jigging may increase the incidence of cannibalism.

Fishery biology of jumbo flying squid Dosidicus gigas off Costa Rica Dome

The jumbo flying squid (Dosidicus gigas) population was surveyed with the help of Chinese squid jigging vessels off the Costa Rica Dome (4°–11°N, 90°–100°W) in 2009 and 2010. The daily catch of D. gigas in the two survey cruises ranged from 0 to 5.5 t and was mostly obtained from the areas bounded by 6°–9°N and 91°–94°W and by 6°30′-7°30′N and 96°–97°W. The sea surface temperature in the areas yielding the most catch ranged from 27.5 to 29°C. The sex ratio of the total catch was 3.75:1 (female: male). The mantle length of the squid ranged from 211 to 355 mm (male) and from 204 to 429 mm (female) with an average of 297.9 and 306.7 mm, respectively. In the relationship of the mantle length (mm) and body weight (g) of the squid, there was no significant difference between sexes. The female and male were at a similar maturity, and most individuals are maturing or have matured with a few females being spent. The size (mantle length) and age at the first sexual maturity were 297 mm and 195 d in females, and less than 211 mm and 130 d in males, respectively. Most of the sampled stomachs (70.6%) had no food remains. The major preys of the squids were fish, cephalopods and crustaceans, with the most abundant Myctophum orientale and D. gigas. The preys in more than 65% of the non-empty sampled stomachs evidenced the cannibalism of D. gigas. The results improved current understanding of the fishery biology of D. gigas off the Costa Rica Dome, which may facilitate the assessment and management of relative fishery resources.

Effects of El Nino/La Nina on distribution of fishing ground ofDosidicus gigasoff Peru waters

Jumbo flying squid,Dosidicus gigas,which is distributed in the waters off Peru,and is an important economic squid,has been caugth by many countries in the world.The study on large-scale environmental change on distribution of D.gigas is important for scientifically fishing and mastering the changing regularity.In this study,the fishing data from Chinese squid jigging fleets,sea surface temperature(SST) and the water temperatures data from 0 to 200 m(sea temperature at 15 meters layer,T15;sea temperature at 50 meters layer,T50;sea temperature at 100 meters layer,T100;sea temperature at 200 meters layer,T200) are used to analyze the large-scale environmental changes on distribution of D.gigas under the different conditions of El Nio and La Nia.The result indicated that under El Nio,the fishing ground was around 79° 84°W and 10° 17°S with the optimal SST range of 19 22 ℃ during October to December in 2006 and 2009,while under La Nia during October to December in 2007,the fishing ground was located around 81° 85°W and 10° 14°S with the optimal SST range of 17 20 ℃.The main fishing ground in the year of La Nia moved to further northward for 1 2° latitude and its average SST decreased 2 ℃ compared with that in the years of El Nio.The distribution of water layers temperature indicated that T15 and T50 in 2007 was significantly higher than that in 2006 with the maximum temperature difference of 6~9 ℃,and but T100 and T200 in 2007 was little higher than that in 2006 with the maximum temperature difference of 1 ℃.The vertical temperature structure indicated that the upwelling is not formed in fishing ground from October to December in 2006,and the fishing ground was distributed at the mixed region between oceanic water and coastal water.But the strong upwelling is formed in coastal waters from October to December in 2007,and the fishing ground was distributed at the intensive isotherm around the upwelling area.Moreover,the strong upwelling will lead to producing more nutrients in the squid habitat layer,which will be useful for squid to feed and make change of the distribution of D.gigas.It is concluded that El Nio/La Nia events are closely related to the change of distribution of fishing ground of D.gigas.

A preliminary analysis of trace-elemental signatures in statoliths of different spawning cohorts for Dosidicus gigas off EEZ waters of Chile

We applied solution-based ICP-MS method to quantify the trace-elemental signatures in statoliths of jumbo flying squid, Dosidius gigas, which were collected from the waters off northern and central Chile during the scientific surveys carried out by Chinese squid jigging vessels in 2007 and 2008. The age and spawning date of the squid were back-calculated based on daily increments in statoliths. Eight elemental ratios (Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, Mg/Ca, Mn/Ca, Na/Ca, Fe/Ca, Cu/Ca and Zn/Ca) were analyzed. It was found that Sr is the second most abundant element next to Ca, followed by Na, Fe, Mg, Zn, Cu, Ba and Mn. There was no significant relationship between element/Ca and sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface salinity (SSS), although weak negative or positive tendency was found. MANOVA analysis showed that multivariate elemental signatures did not differ among the cohorts spawned in spring, autumn and winter, and no significant difference was found between the northern and central sampling locations. Classification results showed that all individuals of each spawned cohorts were correctly classified. This study demonstrates that the elemental signatures in D. gigas statoliths are potentially a useful tool to improve our understanding of its population structure and habitat environment.

Relationship between beak morphological variables and body size and mantle length of male and female Argentine shortfin squid (Illex argentinus)

Beak of cephalopod is an important hard tissue. Understanding the morphology of beak can yield critical information on the role of cephalopods in the ecosystem. The south patagonic stock of the Argentine shortfin squid, Illex argentinus, is not only one of the most important fishing targets, but also one of the most important species in the marine eco-system of the southwest Atlantic. A total of 430 samples of I. argentinus, including 229 females 103–346mm in mantle length (ML) and 201 males 140–298mm in ML, were collected from the area off the Exclusive Economic Zone of Argentinean waters by Chinese squid jigging vessels during February to May 2007. The morphology of their beaks was evaluated. The relationships between beak morphological variables and ML differed significantly among males and females. They could be best described by logarithmic functions for females and linear functions for males except for upper wing length (UWL) and lower rostrum length (LRL), which followed exponential functions in their relationships with ML. The results showed the sexual dimorphism in the relationship between ML and beak morphology for the south patagonic stock of I. argentinus. However, no significant difference was found between males and females in the relationships of beak morphological variables (except for UWL) versus body weight (BW), suggesting that the relationship between beak morphological variables and BW can be used for estimating the biomass consumed by their predators.

Using Different Standardized Methods for Species Identification: A Case Study Using Beaks from Three Ommastrephid Species

The cephalopod beak is a vital hard structure with a stable configuration and has been widely used for the identification of cephalopod species. This study was conducted to determine the best standardization method for identifying different species by measuring 12 morphological variables of the beaks of Illex argentinus, Ommastrephes bartramii, and Dosidicus gigas that were collected by Chinese jigging vessels. To remove the effects of size, these morphometric variables were standardized using three methods. The average ratios of the upper beak morphological variables and upper crest length of O. bartramii and D. gigas were found to be greater than those of I. argentinus. However, for lower beaks, only the average of LRL (lower rostrum length)/LCL (lower crest length), LRW (lower rostrum width)/LCL, and LLWL (lower lateral wall length)/LCL of O. bartramii and D. gigas were greater than those of I. argentinus. The ratios of beak morphological variables and crest length were found to be all significantly different among the three species (P < 0.001). Among the three standardization methods, the correct classification rate of stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA) was the highest using the ratios of beak morphological variables and crest length. Compared with hood length, the correct classification rate was slightly higher when using beak variables standardized by crest length using an allometric model. The correct classification rate of the lower beak was also found to be greater than that of the upper beak. This study indicates that the ratios of beak morphological variables to crest length could be used for interspecies and intraspecies identification. Meanwhile, the lower beak variables were found to be more effective than upper beak variables in classifying beaks found in the stomachs of predators.

Estimation of age, growth and maturation of purpleback flying squid, Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis , in Bashi Channel, central Pacific Ocean

The age, growth and maturation of Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis were determined with statolith data collected with a light purse seine from the Bashi Channel of central Pacific Ocean. The estimated longevity of the squid was no more than 6 months for females, and no more than 5 months for males. Growth in mantle length (ML) was best described by logistic models for both females and males, while growth in body weight (BW) was best fitted by power curves. The maximum absolute growth rate (AGR) and instantaneous growth rate (IGR) in ML or BW both occurred at 91–105 days for females and 76–90 days for males. Back calculated hatching dates were from October to January, with a peak in December, although the short duration of sampling date might have had an influence on the result. The lower percentage of mature females (37.2%) suggested that the study area during the sampling date was not a spawning ground for the species. Size and age at first maturity were 183 mm ML and 136 days for females, whereas they were 156 mm ML and 85 days for males.

CPUE standardization of Illex argentinus for Chinese Mainland squid-jigging fishery in the southwest Atlantic Ocean

Illex argentinus is one of the most important squid-jigging fishery of Chinese Mainland in Southw est Atlantic Ocean.It is necessary to standardize the catch per unit effort(CPUE) in the stock assessment.Generalized linear models(GLM) and generalized additive models(GAM) w ere used to standardize catch per unit effort(CPUE) of Illex argentinus for Chinese squid-jigging fishery in the southw est Atlantic Ocean based on the production data from 2000 to 2010 collected by Chinese Squid-jigging Technology Working Group and the environmental variables including sea surface temperature(SST),sea surface height(SSH) and chlorophyll-a(Chl-a).The GLM analysis indicated that the importance of four variables ranked by decreasing magnitude: Year,Latitude,Year × Latitude and SST.How ever,the GAM show ed that the model including Year,Month,Longitude,Latitude,SST,SSH,Year × Latitude and Year × Longitude w as the optimal model based on AIC and could explain 49.20% of the variance in nominal CPUE.GAM analysis indicated that high CPUEs w ere found in the area betw een 46.5° and 48.5°S at SST ranging from 12 ℃ to 16 ℃ and SSH ranging form-20 to 20 cm in summer.In this study,GAM tended to be more suitable than GLM in analysis of CPUE.