Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Age and Growth of the Mud Skate Bathyraja taranetzi (Arhynchobatidae) of the Northern Kuril Islands

  • SHARKS, SKATES, AND CHIMAERAS (CHONDRICHTHYES)
  • Published:
Journal of Ichthyology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract—

The results of the study on the age structure of the population of the mud skate Bathyraja taranetzi from the Pacific waters off the northern Kuril Islands are presented. The modified method of staining the preparations of mud skate vertebrae with Harris hematoxylin, which significantly improves the distinctness of annual growth increments compared to the previously used ones, has been tested. Approximation models are proposed that make it possible to identify the true annual growth increments on the vertebrae, and consider the relationships between the radius of rings and age, body length and age, body weight and age at the time of formation of the annual increments. According to our data, the age of maturation of individuals of the mud skate turned out to be higher than that known for the population in the eastern part of the Bering Sea and also estimated with vertebrae, and significantly exceeded the results of age determination with caudal thorns obtained for the western part of this species range. It turned out to be about the same for males and females, 12–14 years. The estimated lifespan of individuals of this species was also significantly higher than previously believed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Ainsley, S.M., Ebert, D.A., Natanson, L.J., and Cailliet, G.M., A comparison of age and growth of the Bering skate, Bathyraja interrupta (Gill and Townsend, 1897), from two Alaskan large marine ecosystems, Fish. Res., 2014, vol. 154, pp. 17–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2014.02.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Balanov, A.A., Panchenko, V.V., and Savin, A.B., The first record of a spawning ground of the mud skate Bathyraja taranetzi (Dolganov, 1983) and the Okhotsk skate B. violacea (Suvorov, 1935) in Pacific waters off the Northern Kuril Islands, Russ. J. Mar. Biol., 2020, vol. 46, no. 6, pp. 501–505. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063074020060024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Beamish, R.J. and Fournier, D.A., A method for comparing the precision of a set of age determinations, Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 1981, vol. 38, no. 8, pp. 982–983. https://doi.org/10.1139/f81-132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Cailliet, G.M., Elasmobranch age determination and verification; An updated review, NOAA Techn. Rep. NMFS, 1990, vol. 90, pp. 157–165.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Cailliet, G.M. and Goldman, K.J., Age Determination and Validation in Chondrichthyan Fishes, in Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2004, pp. 399–477.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Cailliet, G.M., Martin, L., Kusher, D., et al.,Ttechniques for enhancing vertebral bands in age estimation of California elasmobranchs, NOAA Techn. Rep. NMFS, 1983, vol. 8, pp. 157–165.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Cailliet, G.M., Andrews, A.H., Burton, E.J., et al., Age determination and validation studies of marine fishes: Do deep-dwellers live longer?, Exp. Gerontol., 2001, vol. 36, nos. 4–6, pp. 739–764. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0531-5565(00)00239-4

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Chang, W.Y.B., A statistical method for evaluating the reproducibility of age determination, Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 1982, vol. 39, no. 8, pp. 1208–1210. https://doi.org/10.1139/f82-158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Chanté, D.D., Cailliet, G.M., and Ebert, D.A., Age and growth of the roughtail skate Bathyraja trachura (Gilbert, 1892) from the eastern North Pacific, Environ. Biol. Fish., 2007, vol. 80, nos. 2–3, Article 325. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-007-9224-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Dolganov, V.N., Reproduction of skates of the family Rajidae in the Far Eastern seas of Russia, Izv. Tikhook. Inst. Rybn. Khoz. Okeanogr., 1998, vol. 124, pp. 425–428.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Dolganov, V.N., Geographic and bathymetric distribution of rays of the Rajidae family in the Far Eastern seas of Russia and adjacent waters, Vopr. Ikhtiol., 1999, vol. 39. no. 3, pp. 428–430.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Dolganov, V.N., Size, age and growth of skates of the Rajidae family in the Russian Far East Seas, Izv. Tikhook. Inst. Rybn. Khoz. Okeanogr., 2005, vol. 143, pp. 84–89.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Dolganov, V.N. and Tuponogov, V.N., Key tables for skates of the genera Bathyraja and Rhinoraja (family Rajidae) of the Far Eastern seas of Russia, Izv. Tikhook. Inst. Rybn. Khoz. Okeanogr., 1999, vol. 126, pp. 657–664.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Ebert, D.A., 1996. biology of the sevengill shark, Notorynchus cepedianus (Peron, 1807), in the temperate coastal waters of southern Africa, S. Afr. J. Mar. Sci., vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 93–103. https://doi.org/10.2989/025776196784158545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Ebert, D.A., Reproductive biology of skates, Bathyraja (Ishiyama), along the eastern Bering Sea continental slope, J. Fish. Biol., 2005, vol. 66, no. 3, pp. 618–649. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-1112.2005.00628.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Ebert, D.A., Smith, W.D., Haas, D.L., et al., Life History and Population Dynamics of Alaskan skate: Providing Biological Information for Effective Management of Bycatch and Target Species, in North Pac. Res. Board Final Rep., Anchorage, AK: North Pacific Research Board, 2007, no. 510.

  17. Ebert, D.A., Maurer, J.R., Ainsley, S., et al., Life History and Population Dynamics of Four Endemic Alaskan Skates: Determining Essential Biological Information for Effective Management of Bycatch and Target Species, in North Pac. Res. Board Final Rep., Anchorage, AK: North Pacific Research Board, 2009, no. 715.

  18. Fedorov, V.V., Species Composition, Distribution and Habitat Depths of Species of Fish and Fish of the Northern Kuril Islands, in Promyslovo-biologicheskie issledovaniya ryb v tikhookeanskikh vodakh Kuril’skikh o-vov i prilezhashchikh raionakh Okhotskogo i Beringova morei v 1992–1998 gg. (Commercial and Biological Studies of Fish in the Pacific Waters of the Kuril Islands and Adjacent Areas of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea in 1992–1998), Moscow: VNIRO, 2000, pp. 7–41.

  19. Frisk, M.G. and Miller, T.J., age, growth, and latitudinal patterns of two Rajidae species in the northwestern Atlantic: Little skate (Leucoraja erinacea) and winter skate (Leucoraja ocellata), Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 2006, vol. 63, no. 5, pp. 1078–1091. https://doi.org/10.1139/F06-005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Gallagher, M. and Nolan, C.P., A novel method for the estimation of age and growth in rajids using caudal thorns, Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 1999, vol. 56, no. 9, pp. 1590–1599. https://doi.org/10.1139/f99-084

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Gallagher, M., Nolan, C.P., and Jeal, F., The structure and growth processes of caudal thorns, J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci., 2005, vol. 35, pp. 125–129. https://doi.org/10.2960/J.V35.M529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Goldman, K.J., Age and Growth Of Elasmobranch Fishes, in Technical Manual for the Management of Elasmobranchs, Singapore: Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and IUCN Shark Specialist Group Publication, 2004, pp. 97–132.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Haas, D.L., Age, growth, and reproduction of the Aleutian skate, Bathyraja aleutica, from Alaskan waters, Masters of Science thesis, Marina and Seaside: CSUMB, 2011.

  24. Ishiyama, R., Studies on the rays and skates belonging to the family Rajidae, found in Japan and adjacent regions. 2. On the age–determination of Japanese black skate Raja fusca Garman (Preliminary Report), Bull. Jpn. Soc. Sci. Fish., 1951, vol. 16, no. 12, pp. 112–118. https://doi.org/10.2331/suisan.16.12_112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Kimura, D.E., Likelihood methods for the von Bertalanffy growth curve, Fish. Bull., 1980, vol. 77, no. 4, pp. 765–776.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Matta, M.E. and Gunderson, D.R., Age, growth, maturity, and mortality of the Alaska skate, Bathyraja parmifera, in the eastern Bering Sea, Environ. Biol. Fish., 2007, vol. 80, nos. 2–3, pp. 309–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-007-9223-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. McFarlane, G.A. and Beamish, R.J., Validation of the Dorsal Spine Method of Age Determination for Spiny Dogfish, in The Age and Growth of Fish, Ames: Iowa State Univ. Press, 1987, pp. 287–300.

    Google Scholar 

  28. McFarlane, G.A., King, R., and Saunders, M.W., Preliminary study on the use of neural arches in the age determination of bluntnose sixgill sharks (Hexanchus griseus), Fish. Bull., 2002, no. 100, pp. 861–864.

  29. McPhie, R.P. and Campana, S.E., Bomb dating and age determination of skates (family Rajidae) off the eastern coast of Canada, ICES J. Mar. Sci., 2009, vol. 66, no. 3, pp. 546–560. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsp002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Mecklenburg, C.W., Mecklenburg, T.A., and Thorsteinson, L.K., Fishes of Alaska, Bethesda, Maryland: Am. Fish. Soc., 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Musick, J.A. and Bonfil, R., Management Techniques for Elasmobranch Fisheries, in FAO Fish. Techn. Pap., Rome: FAO, 2005, no. 474.

  32. Natanson, L.J., Sulikowski, J.A., Kneebone, J.R., and Tsang, P.C., Age and growth estimates for the smooth skate, Malacoraja senta, in the Gulf of Maine, Environ. Biol. Fish, 2007, vol. 80, nos. 2–3, pp. 293–308. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-007-9220-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Orlov, A.M., On substantiation of the commercial measure of the Far Eastern skates (family Rajidae) on the example of mass West Bering Sea species, Tr. VNIRO, 2006, vol. 146, pp. 252–264.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Orlov, A.M. and Tokranov, A.M., Reanalysis of long-term surveys on the ecology and biology of mud skate (Rhinoraja taranetzi Dolganov, 1985) in the northwestern Pacific (1993–2002), J. Appl. Ichthyol., 2010, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 861–871. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0426.2010.01512.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Orlov, A.M., Tokranov, A.M., and Fatykhov, R.N., Common deep–benthic skates (Rajidae) of the northwestern Pacific: basic ecological and biological features, Cybium, 2006, vol. 30, no. 4, Suppl. pp 49–65. https://doi.org/10.26028/cybium/2006-304supp-008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Orlov, A.M., Tokranov, A.M., and Fatykhov, R.N., Habitat conditions, relative abundance and some features of the biology of common species of skates in the Kuril and Kamchatka waters of the Pacific Ocean, Issled. Vodn. Biol. Resur. Kamchat. Sev.-Zap. Chasti Tikhogo Okeana, 2006, no. 8, pp. 38–53.

  37. Panchenko, V.V., Balanov, A.A., and Savin, A.B., Distribution and size and sex composition of the mud skate Bathyraja taranetzi in the Pacific waters off the Northern Kuril Islands and coasts of Southeastern Kamchatka in the summer period, J. Ichthyol., 2020, vol. 60, no. 4, pp. 585–592. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945220040141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Parin, N.V., Evseenko, S.A., and Vasil’eva, E.D., Ryby morei Rossii: annotirovannyi katalog (Fishes of Russian Seas: Annotated Catalogue), Moscow: KMK, 2014.

  39. Savin, A.B., Balanov, A.A., and Panchenko, V.V., The current structure of the ichthyocene on the continental shelf’s outer edge and upper slope of the Northern Kuril Islands and Southeastern Kamchatka, J. Ichthyol., 2019, vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 499–515. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945219040143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Serra-Pereira, B., Figueiredo, I., Bordalo-Machado, P., et al., Age and growth of Raja clavata Linnaeus, 1758 – evaluation of ageing precision using different types of caudal denticles, in ICES Conference and Meeting Documents N:17, 2005.

  41. Sheiko, B.A. and Fedorov, V.V., Class Cephalaspidomorphi – Lampreys. Class Chondrichthyes – Cartilaginous Fish. Class Holocephali – Holocephalians. Class Osteichthyes – Teleosts, in Katalog pozvonochnykh zhivotnykh Kamchatki i sopredel’nykh morskikh akvatorii (Catalog of Vertebrates of Kamchatka and Adjacent Marine Areas), Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky: Kamchat. Pechat. Dvor, 2000, pp. 7–69.

  42. Sulikowski, J.A., Morin, M.D., Suk, S.H., and Howell, W.H., Age and growth of the winter skate, Leucoraja ocellata, in the Gulf of Maine, Fish. Bull., 2003, vol. 101, pp. 405–413.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Sulikowski, J.A., Kneebone, J., Elzey, S., et al., Age and growth estimates of the thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) in the western Gulf of Maine, Fish. Bull., 2005, vol. 103, pp. 161–168.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Verhulst, P.F., Notice sar la loi que la population suit dans son accroissement, Corres. Math. Phys., 1838, vol. 10, pp. 113–121.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Vinogradskaya, A.V., Matveev A.A., Ryazanova T.V., et al., Methods for visualizing annual rings on the vertebrae of some species of rhomboid rays (Rajidae Blainville, 1816), Vestn. Kamchat. Gos. Tekhn. Univ., 2019, no. 49, pp. 89–97. https://doi.org/10.17217/2079-0333-2019-49-89-97

  46. Weibull, W., A statistical distribution function of wide applicability, 1951, J. Appl. Mech., vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 293–297. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4010337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Zeiner, S.J. and Wolf, P., Growth characteristics and estimates of age at maturity of two species of skates (Raja binoculata and Raja rhina) from Monterey Bay, California, NOAA Techn. Rep. NMFS, 1993, no. 115, pp. 87–99.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

    V. A. Shelekhov, V. V. Panchenko & V. A. Parensky

Authors
  1. V. A. Shelekhov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. V. V. Panchenko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. V. A. Parensky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to V. A. Shelekhov.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interests. The author declares that he has no conflicts of interest.

Statement on the welfare of humans or animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Additional information

Translated by N. Ruban

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shelekhov, V.A., Panchenko, V.V. & Parensky, V.A. Age and Growth of the Mud Skate Bathyraja taranetzi (Arhynchobatidae) of the Northern Kuril Islands. J. Ichthyol. 62, 1332–1342 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945222060285

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945222060285

Keywords: