Edad y crecimiento diario de juveniles de Engraulis anchoita del sur de Brasil

The daily growth of 73 juvenile Argentine anchovies (Engraulis anchoita) with total lengths ranging from 37 to 86 mm collected in the southern Brazilian shelf during four research cruises in 2010 and 2011 was studied by counting and measuring daily increments in their sagittal otoliths. The mean somatic growth rate in length ranged from 0.20 mm day-1 to 0.57 mm day-1. Back-calculated lengths at age in days were best fitted by the power model L(t) = 1.89 t0.70 (R2 = 0.96). The growth showed a close relationship with metamorphosis, as observed in other species of the Genus Engraulis. When comparing growth results with other individuals of the same species from the Argentine shelf, some differences in growth pattern were noticed, which could be attributed to seasonality or the fact that they may constitute different stocks. All specimens hatched between February and August, mainly in June and July, coinciding with a period of high chlorophyll-a concentration in the study area. By applying a mixed general linear model, a slightly higher growth was detected during the first days of life in individuals hatched in April (0.51 mm day-1 ± 0.013) than in those born in July (0.48 mm day-1 ± 0.012), which could probably be attributable to thermal influence. The specimens of E. anchoita in this study would not have benefited from a rapid growth during the larval stages to ensure survival to the juvenile stage. † Lic. Daniel R. Hernández passed away on January 25, 2019.