Investigation of Fluctuating Asymmetry in the Four Otolith Characters of Merlangius merlangus Collected from Middle Black Sea

Abstract

Fluctuating asymmetry was calculated for the otolith width, length, area and perimeter of Merlangius merlangus caught in the Middle Black Sea. In the present study, M. merlangus samples were divided nine-total length groups. All total length groups were examined for asymmetry values in the otolith characters, the highest asymmetry values were found in the Group III. The lowest asymmetry values in four otolith characters such as area, length, perimeter, and width were calculated in the Group I and Group IX. In this study, it was determined that the otolith asymmetry levels of M. merlangus in the Middle Black Sea were varied between the four otolith characters, the otolith area has the highest and the otolith length has the lowest asymmetric feature. In addition, there was no significant relationship between the asymmetry values of the four otolith characters and total length. The asymmetry in these otolith characters may be a result of the stress from different pollutants in the Black Sea.

Keywords

• Sagittal otolith,Merlangius merlangus,Fluctuating asymmetry,Environmental factors,Black Sea

Orta Karadeniz’den Örneklenen Merlangius merlangus‘un Dört Otolit Karakterinin Dalgalı Asimetrisinin İncelenmesi

Abstract

Orta Karadeniz'den yakalanan Merlangius merlangus’un otolit genişliği, uzunluğu, alanı ve çevresi için dalgalı asimetri değerleri hesaplanmıştır. Bu çalışmada elde edilen M. merlangus örnekleri dokuz total boy grubuna ayrılmıştır. Tüm total boy grupları, otolit karakterlerindeki asimetri değerleri açısından incelenmiş ve en yüksek asimetri değerleri Grup III'de bulunmuştur. Alan, uzunluk, çevre ve genişlik gibi dört otolit karakterindeki en düşük asimetri değerleri Grup I ve Grup IX'de hesaplanmıştır. Bu çalışmada, Orta Karadeniz'deki M. merlangus'un otolit asimetri düzeylerinin bu dört otolit karakteri arasında farklılık gösterdiği, otolit alanının en yüksek ve otolit boyunun ise en düşük asimetrik özelliğe sahip oluğu belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca bu dört otolit karakterinin asimetri değerleri ile total boy grupları arasında anlamlı bir ilişki yoktur. Bu türün otolit karakterlerinde gözlenen asimetri Karadeniz’deki farklı kirleticilerden kaynaklı stresin bir sonucu olabilir.

Keywords

• Sagittal otolit,Merlangius merlangus,Dalgalı asimetri,Çevresel faktörler,Karadeniz

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