Age and growth of Schizopygopsis younghusbandi younghusbandi in the Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet, China

• DOI: 10.1007/s10641-008-9370-6
• Publication Date: 2008-06-24T08:07:13Z
• Authors: Feng Chen; Yifeng Chen; Dekui He
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; 14. Life underwater; 01 natural sciences

Schizopygopsis younghusbandi younghusbandi is an endemic species whose distribution is restricted to the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, being one of the most important commercial fishes in this area. Age and growth of 606 specimens captured between October 2002 and April 2005 were studied. The range in standard length (L) was 65.7–387.3 mm and total weight (W) was 3.3–772.0 g. The relationship between L and W was W = 0.000909L2.2493 for males and W = 0.000259L2.4781 for females. Age, determined from anal scales and lapillus otoliths, ranged from 3 to 18 years. The parameters of von Bertalanffy growth functions, estimated by back-calculated length, were \(L_\infty = 442.7mm\;L\), k = 0.0738 year−1 and t 0 = −1.4 year for males, and \(L_\infty = 471.4mm\;L\), k = 0.0789 year−1 and t0 = 0.2 year for females. Males and females exhibited statistically significant differences in growth. χ2-test indicated that von Bertalanffy growth functions could well describe the growth of S. y. younghusbandi. The longevities were 39.2 and 38.2 years for males and females, respectively. Growth inflexion points were 10.2 and 12.0 years for males and females, respectively, but 84.8% of the captures were at the smaller ages. So conservation and management schemes for this population should be considered urgently. In addition, we found that populations from the upstream of the Lhasa River, the downstream of the Lhasa River and the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River showed statistically significant differences in growth patterns.