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Life-history traits of the Magellan plunderfish Harpagifer bispinis (Forster, 1801) in the Beagle Channel (Tierra del Fuego, South America)

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Abstract

The Magellan plunderfish Harpagifer bispinis is a small and benthic sub-Antarctic notothenioid commonly found in shallow waters of the Beagle Channel, whose biology is poorly known. Based on a seasonal sampling conducted throughout a year, we provide original data on some biological parameters, such as reproductive traits and age structure. The sampled population of Magellan plunderfish was sex balanced, showing no dimorphism in fish size and isometric body growth. Macroscopic and histological analyses of gonads enabled us to infer that this species is a total spawner, with a single annual spawning season during the austral winter. Total fecundity was considerably low (mean of 574 eggs per female), even compared with other harpagiferids. Based on daily increment counts made in juveniles, larval hatching took place between late September and early October, likely enhancing their survival during the warmer months. The Von Bertalanffy growth parameters, estimated from the length-at-age data pairs for the whole population, were L∞ = 80.7 (± 0.82), K = 0.25 (± 0.01), and t0 = − 2.31. The estimated growth performance (3.21) and life span (7 years) of H. bispinis were both comparable to those reported for their most closely related species, H. antarcticus. The life-history traits of Magellan plunderfish are discussed from an ecological and evolutionary perspective, through a comparative approach with their Antarctic counterparts.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Grant Numbers PIP 0440 and PICT 2321). The authors are also grateful to Christopher D. Jones for their useful comments that improved the manuscript, Raimundo Bustos for his help with the map and M. Isabel Ledesma for her assistance with the English language editing of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciencias Polares, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (ICPA), Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego (UNTDF), Fuegia Basket 251, V9410BXE, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego AIAS, Argentina

    Facundo M. Llompart, Daniel A. Fernández & Daniel Aureliano

  2. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Bernardo A Houssay 200, V9410BXE, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego AIAS, Argentina

    Facundo M. Llompart & Daniel A. Fernández

  3. ISP-Istituto di Scienze Polari, c/o Area della Ricerca di Bologna, Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy

    Mario La Mesa

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  1. Facundo M. Llompart
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  3. Daniel Aureliano
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Correspondence to Facundo M. Llompart.

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Ethical approval

Harpagifer bispinis is not protected under wildlife conservation laws (local legislation, International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN], or Convention on International Trade Endangered Species [CITES]). Individuals used under this study were captured within the framework of the Pampa Azul inter-ministerial initiative, supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva of Argentina. As the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas (CONICET) does not possess formal Committees regarding fish welfare and sampling protocols, fish handling during sampling was performed following guidelines of the Ethical Committee of the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory Animals (available online at https://www.ufaw.org.uk).

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Llompart, F.M., Fernández, D.A., Aureliano, D. et al. Life-history traits of the Magellan plunderfish Harpagifer bispinis (Forster, 1801) in the Beagle Channel (Tierra del Fuego, South America). Polar Biol 43, 1643–1654 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-020-02735-x

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