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Comparison of weight-length relationships and relative growth between intertidal and offshore populations of Hexaplex trunculus (Gastropoda: Muricidae) from the Gulf of Gabès (southern Tunisia)

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Abstract

The present study reports weight-length (W-L) relationships and discusses the relative growth of the banded murex (Hexaplex trunculus) from intertidal and offshore areas of the Gulf of Gabès (southern Tunisia). Overall, 9634 H. trunculus were sampled (6608 from intertidal and 3026 from offshore), with both populations comprising broad ranges in shell length (intertidal: 13.6–78.5 mm; offshore: 22.9–91.1 mm) and total weight (intertidal: 0.2–63.8 g; offshore: 0.6–92.5 g). In both populations, W-L relationships were highly significant and the morphometric parameters were highly correlated (intertidal: r = 0.967; offshore: r = 0.973). Relative growth was significantly different between populations, with intertidal H. trunculus displaying a negative allometry (b = 2.962) and offshore H. trunculus exhibiting isometric growth (b = 3.013). Factors influencing total weight (soft-body weight and shell weight) and potentially responsible for differences in W-L relationships and relative growth between populations were discussed. In addition, a useful comparative analysis for fisheries biology, assessment and management purposes was performed with analogous information from other populations of H. trunculus from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

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Acknowledgments

Authors acknowledge the colleagues from the INSTM for valuable help and support during fishing surveys and laboratory sampling. The author Paulo Vasconcelos was funded by a post-doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/26348/2006) awarded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT - Portugal). Thanks are also due to the managing editor (Dr. Maria Kazimírová) and two anonymous reviewers that provided helpful comments and suggestions for improving the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (INSTM), Centre de Sfax, B.P. 1035, Sfax, 3018, Tunisie

    Kamel Elhasni, Mohamed Ghorbel & Othman Jarboui

  2. Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA, I.P.), Avenida 5 de Outubro s/n, 8700-305, Olhão, Portugal

    Paulo Vasconcelos

  3. Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar (CESAM), Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    Paulo Vasconcelos

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  1. Kamel Elhasni
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  2. Paulo Vasconcelos
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  3. Mohamed Ghorbel
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  4. Othman Jarboui
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Correspondence to Kamel Elhasni.

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Elhasni, K., Vasconcelos, P., Ghorbel, M. et al. Comparison of weight-length relationships and relative growth between intertidal and offshore populations of Hexaplex trunculus (Gastropoda: Muricidae) from the Gulf of Gabès (southern Tunisia). Biologia 73, 191–196 (2018). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-018-0021-x

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