Fin spine bone resorption in atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, and comparison between wild and captive-reared specimens.

ABSTRACT: Bone resorption in the first spine of the first dorsal fin of Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT) has long been considered for age estimation studies. In the present paper spine bone resorption was assessed in wild (aged 1 to 13 years) and captive-reared (aged 2 to 11 years) ABFT sampled from the Mediterranean Sea. Total surface (TS), solid surface (SS) and reabsorbed surface (RS) were measured in spine transverse sections in order to obtain proportions of SS and RS. The spine section surface was found to be isometrically correlated to the fish fork length by a power equation. The fraction of solid spine bone progressively decreased according to a logarithmic equation correlating SS/TS to both fish size and age. The values ranged from 57% in the smallest examined individuals to 37% in the largest

SUBMITTER: Santamaria N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4353707 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature