Lab 7 - Age & Growth

Question 1

What are the two basic ways to estimate age and growth of fish?

Answer 1

1 - Peterson method or length-frequency distribution

2 - Use hard parts to measure age and growth directly

Question 2

What are some of the issues with the Peterson method.

Answer 2

Assumes fish can be separated into distinct year classes.

Difficult in older fish and fish in the tropics that spawn year-round.

Question 3

Where can we use hard parts to measure age?

Answer 3

Bones, fin rays, scales, otoliths

Question 4

How can one measure growth rate over time?

Answer 4

By measuring the distance between growth rings