TY - JOUR T1 - Age, Length-Weight Relationships and Diet Composition of Scaldfish Arnoglossus laterna (Walbaum, 1792) (Pisces: Bothidae) in Izmir Bay (Aegean Sea) AU - , Bahar Bayhan AU - , Tuncay Murat Sever AU - , Ertan Taskavak JO - Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances VL - 7 IS - 8 SP - 924 EP - 929 PY - 2008 DA - 2001/08/19 SN - 1680-5593 DO - javaa.2008.924.929 UR - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=javaa.2008.924.929 KW - Scaldfish KW -Arnoglossus laterna KW -age KW -length-weight relationships KW -diet composition KW -Izmir Bay KW -Aegean Sea AB - The age, length-weight relationship and diet composition of Arnoglossus laterna from the Izmir Bay were examined in specimens caught on a seasonal basis from January 2002 to March 2003. The ratio of male to female of 1081 scaldfish captured by trawl netting was 1:1.62 and their total lengths varied from 5.6-15.7 cm and total weights from 1.2-31.51 g. The length-weight relationships were estimated as W = 0.0035 L3.301; W = 0.0066 L3.043; W = 0.0073 L3.011 for females, for males and for all individuals, respectively. Based on the otolith readings, the age distribution of the samples varied from I to V years. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters were calculated to be L = 16.87 cm, k = 0.236 year 1, t0 = -0.887 year. Stomach contents of A. laterna were filled with preys of 5 major taxonomical groups: Polychaeta, Crustacea, Mollusca, Chaetognatha and Teleostei. A total of 11 prey groups were identified in the diets of scaldfish, with most abundant crustaceans. According to a Bray-Curtis similarity index in relation to ages, two groups are formed based on index percentage of relative importance of food item; I-II age groups constituted the first similarity and III-IV-V the second one. ER -