Int. J. Aquat. Biol. (2015) 3(6): 409-413 E-ISSN: 2322-5270; P-ISSN: 2383-0956 Journal homepage: www.ij-aquaticbiology.com © 2015 Iranian Society of Ichthyology Short Communication Length-weight and length-length relationships in populations of Garra rufa from different rivers and basins of Iran Yazdan Keivany*1, Ali Nezamoleslami1, Salar Dorafshan1, Soheil Eagderi2 1Department of Natural Resources (Fisheries Division), Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, 84156-83111, Iran. 2Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. Article history: Received 24 August 2015 Accepted 7 November 2015 Available online 2 5 December 2015 Keywords: Cyprinidae, Doctor fish, Growth, Life history. Abstract: This study describes the length-weight and length-length relationships for 28 populations of Garra ruffa in different basins of Iran, including Tigris, Karkheh, Karun, Persis and Hormuz. The length-weight relationships from most localities are reported here for the first time. For most populations the b value was not significantly different from 3, indicating an isometric growth, in a few, it was significantly bigger than 3, indicating a positive allometric growth, and in some, it was significantly smaller than 3, indicating a negative allometric growth. In the whole samples, it was not significantly different from 3, indicating an isometric growth. Introduction The length-weight (LWR) and length-length (LLR) relationships are useful for the prediction of weight from length, assessment of fish stocks and give information on the condition and growth patterns of fish (Radkhah and Eagderi, 2015), and are widely used in fish biology. Herein, we provide LWRs and LLRs of doctor fish, Garra rufa, for populations from 28 rivers and 5 basins of Iran. There is some biological information available on this species. Esmaeili et al. (2005), Abedi el al. (2011) and Geremew et al. (2015) studied the reproductive biology of this fish in central and southwestern Iran. Gozukara and Cavas (2004) and Gorshkova et al. (2012) studied the karyology of G. rufa in Eastern Meditereanian of Turkey and Jordan, respectively. Patimar et al. (2010) studied some life history aspects of this species in western Iran. Shabani et al. (2013) studied the microsatellite loci of G. rufa to determine its population structure in Khuzestan Province, Iran. Stiassny and Getahun (2007) studied the phylogenetic placement of the Afro‐Asian genus * Corresponding author: Yazdan Keivany E-mail address: Keivany@cc.iut.ac.ir Garra. Teimori et al. (2011) studied the micro- structure of the adhesive organ in G. rufa from Bushehr Basin. Vazirzadeh et al. (2015) studied the spawning induction of G. rufa using Ovaprim and captive rearing of the obtained larvae. Also, Esmaeili and Ebrahimi (2005), Bibak et al. (2013), Gerami et al. (2013), Hamidan and Britton (2013) and Hashemzadeh et al. (2015) studied the LWR of this fish in southern Iran. However, the length-weight and length-length relationships from many localities are reported here for the first time. Materials and Methods The specimens were collected during April 2010 to August 2011 by different types of fishing gears, including hand net, gill net with a mesh size of 5 mm and cast net with a mesh size of 15 mm. The samples were anesthetized in 1% clove oil solution and fixed in 10% buffered formalin and transferred to the Ichthyology laboratory of Isfahan University of Technology for further examinations. For each specimen, total length (TL), fork length (FL) and 410 Int. J. Aquat. Biol. (2015) 3(6): 409-413 standard length (SL) to the nearest 0.01 mm and whole body wet weight to the nearest 0.01 g was measured. The relationships between body length parameters were calculated by the method of least squares to fit a linear regression as: Y = 𝛼 + bX, where, Y is standard and fork lengths, X is total length, 𝛼 is proportionality constant and b is regression coefficient (Le Cren 1951; Haddon, 2011).). The length-weight relationship was estimated with log- transformed equation: W=𝛼Lb and log (W) = log(𝛼) + b log(L), where W is the whole body weight (g), L is the total length (cm), 𝛼 is intercept i.e. coefficient related to the body, and b is an exponential expressing relationship between length-weight. Prior to regression analyses, log-log plots of the length- weight pairs were performed to identify outliers (Froese, 2006; Froese et al., 2011). Extreme outliers attributed to data error were excluded from the analyses. Results and Discussion Length-weight and length-length relationships of the selected populations and related statistics are presented in Tables 1 and 2. The exponent b in length-weight relationships should normally fall between 2.5 and 3.5 (Froese, 2006). In this study, the exponent b for all the populations was within this Total Length (mm) Weight (g) Length-weight Basin River Counts Min-Max Mean±SD Mean±SD a b r2 Tigris Alvand 12 68.09-122.83 102.25±16.00 13.72±5.00 0.0126 2.98 0.99 Chamgordalan 30 54.30-106.84 79.11±15.00 7.29±4.00 0.0120 3.05 0.99 Doirej 26 58.37-97.85 70.36±10.16 3.99±1.80 0.0179 2.75 0.95 Godarkhosh 7 40.89-89.55 55.37±18.00 2.63±2.80 0.0121 2.98 0.99 Kangir 5 56.87-65.88 62.66±3.00 2.92±0.50 0.0110 3.04 0.97 Little Zab 6 50.45-77.25 61.74±9.00 2.92±1.00 0.0056 3.40* 0.98 Mimeh 31 62.86-98.30 79.63±9.69 5.45±1.90 0.0116 2.95 0.94 Sirvan 16 57.61-78.99 69.31±6.00 3.90±1.10 0.0115 2.99 0.96 Zimakan 14 32.19-80.15 60.15±14.91 2.72±1.60 0.0061 3.30* 0.99 All basin 147 32.19-122.83 74.29±16.56 5.49±4.10 0.0093 3.10 0.97 Karkheh Chaghalvandi 24 43.17-131.30 87.89±29.69 11.84±9.60 0.0094 3.14 0.99 Chardavol 7 19.82-104.31 43.07±35.10 2.92±4.00 0.0121 2.99 0.99 Gamasiab 10 30.63-104.69 68.59±19.83 4.73±4.090 0.0094 3.14 0.99 Kakareza 58 48.73-127.20 89.78±15.78 9.86±5.35 0.0121 3.01 0.98 Kashkan 17 56.23-172.85 117.82±32.74 22.25±15.40 0.0140 2.91 0.97 Saymareh 5 82.31±43.65 0.79-46.72 12.24±19.50 0.0076 3.19* 0.99 All basin 121 19.82-172.85 88.59±29.37 11.26±10.20 0.0115 3.02 0.99 Karun Beshar 33 36.94-113.13 79.74±20.74 6.80±4.70 0.0114 2.99 0.99 Karun 10 81.61-130.93 106.69±18.00 15.44±6.90 0.0171 2.85* 0.97 Katola 4 50.36-96.35 72.45±22.00 5.14±4.00 0.0094 3.08 0.99 Marbor 15 55.40-127.58 80.98±21.77 7.53±7.00 0.0076 3.18* 0.98 All basin 62 36.94-130.93 83.92±22.64 8.26±6.00 0.0099 3.06 0.98 Persis Ahram 9 58.63-98.52 71.36±12.25 4.83±3.00 0.0142 2.92* 0.98 Bahoosh 8 60.30-72.43 66.90±4.65 3.77±0.80 0.0099 3.11 0.78 Darolmizan 11 29.25-65.24 49.22±10.64 1.55±0.80 0.0094 3.12 0.99 Karzin 16 22.45-58.02 31.72±7.91 00.41±0.40 0.0132 2.83* 0.99 Mond 17 61.95-106.09 74.07±10.96 4.55±2.50 0.0060 3.27* 0.93 Safid 5 32.02-85.61 60.73±19.48 2.86±2.00 0.0097 3.04 0.99 Shahpour 4 55.04-100.36 78.60±19.82 5.20±3.00 0.0209 2.63* 0.99 Sheldan 33 39.49-68.47 49.05±5.96 1.30±0.50 0.0096 3.06 0.98 All basin 103 19.82-172.85 51.37±17.42 2.01±2.20 0.0095 3.06 0.98 Hormuz Axe Rostam 19 33.48-75.74 54.57±12.00 2.00±1.00 0.0059 3.34* 0.99 Total 452 19.82-172.85 72.05±25.80 6.19±7.10 0.0092 3.11 0.99 Table 1. Number, mean total length and weight of Garra rufa from different rivers and basins of Iran collected during April 2010 to August 2011. 411 Keivany et al./ LWRs and LLRs relationships in populations of Garra rufa range and therefore, the parameters can be used within the referred length ranges. In most populations, the b value was not statistically different from 3, indicating an isometric growth. In some populations, it was significantly smaller than 3, indicating a negative allometric growth and in a few, it was significantly bigger than 3, indicating a positive allometric growth. In the whole samples, it was not significantly different from 3, indicating an isometric growth (Fig. 1). However, length-weight relationships may vary due to changes in food availability, stage of sexual maturity and other factors such as sampling and preservations techniques (Froese, 2006; Alavi-Yeganeh et al., 2011; Daneshvar et al., 2013; Hasankhani et al., 2013, 2014; Ghanbarifardi et al., 2014), none of which were considered in this study. In conclusion, this study provides basic information on LWRs and LLRs for this species that would be useful for fishery biologists and managers in Iran. Acknowledgments We would like to thank S. Asadollah and M. Nasri for their help in fish collection. This study was financially supported by Isfahan University of Technology and Iran Department of Environment (Grant No. 11023 to YK). References Abedi M., Shiva A.H., Mohammadi H., Malekpour R. (2011). Reproductive biology and age determination of Garra rufa Heckel, 1843 (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae) in central Iran. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 35(3): 317-323. Alavi-Yeganeh M.S., Seifabadi S.J., Keivany Y., Kazemi B., Wallis G.P. (2011). Comparison of length-weight relationships in different populations and sexes of Iranian thoothcarps. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 27: 1401-1403. Bibak M., Hosseini S.A., Izadpanahi G.R. (2013). Length-Weight Relationship of Barbus grypus (Heckel, 1843) in Dalaki River and Garra rufa (heckel, 1843) in Shahpur River in South of Iran. World Journal of Fish and Marine Sciences, 5(2): 203-205. Daneshvar E., Keivany Y., Paknehad Y. (2013). Comparative biometry of the Iranian cichlid, Iranocichla hormuzensis, in different seasons and sexes. Research in Zoology, 3: 56-61. Esmaeili H.R., Ebrahimi M. (2006). Length-weight relationships of some freshwater fishes of Iran. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 22(4): 328-329. Esmaeili H.R., Yazdanpanah M., Monsefi M. (2005). Reproductive biology of doctor fish, Garra rufa (Cyprinidae: Garrinae), in southwest of Iran. Journal of Fish Biology, 67: 282-282. Esmaeili H.R., Ebrahimi M. (2006). Length-weight relationships of some freshwater fishes of Iran. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 22: 328-329. Froese R., Pauly D. (2015). FishBase. Available at: http:// www.fishbase.org, (last accessed: 5 June 2015). Froese R. (2006). Cube law, condition factor and weight- length relationships: history, meta-analysis and recommendations. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 22: 241-253. Froese R., Tsikliras A.C., Stergiou K.I. (2011). Editorial Basin Equation LWR parameters a b r2 Tigris FL=a+b×TL 0.058 0.910 0.99 SL=a+b×TL 0.128 0.851 0.98 Karkheh FL=a+b×TL 0.026 0.930 0.99 SL=a+b×TL 0.069 0.839 0.99 Karun FL=a+b×TL 0.080 0.922 0.99 SL=a+b×TL 0.182 0.823 0.98 Persis FL=a+b×TL 0.012 1.125 0.99 SL=a+b×TL 0.080 0.740 0.98 Hormuz FL=a+b×TL 0.072 0.933 0.99 SL=a+b×TL 0.474 0.728 0.99 All FL=a+b×TL 0.933 0.074 0.99 SL=a+b×TL -0.114 0.850 0.99 Table 1. Length-length relationships for populations from different basins in Iran. Figure 1. Length-length relationships for populations from different basins in Iran. 412 Int. J. Aquat. Biol. (2015) 3(6): 409-413 note on weight-length relations of fishes. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, 41: 261-263. Gerami M.H., Abdollahi D., Patimar R. (2013). Length- weight, length-length relationship and condition factor of Garra rufa in Cholvar River of Iran. World Journal of Fish and Marine Sciences, 5(4): 358-361. Geremew A., Getahun A., Dejen E. (2015). Reproductive biology of Garra regressus and Garra tana (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) from Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 7(6): 7223- 7233. Ghanbarifardi M., Ghasemian S., Aliabadian M., Pehpuri A. (2014). Length-weight relationships for three species of mudskippers (Gobiiformes: Gobionellidae) in the coastal areas of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, Iran. Iranian Journal of Ichthyology, 1: 29-31. Gorshkova G., Gorshkov S., Abu-Ras A., Golani D. (2012). Karyotypes of Garra rufa and G. ghorensis (Pisces, Cyprinidae) inhabiting the inland water systems of the Jordan basin. Italian Journal of Zoology, 79(1): 9-12. Gozukara S.E., Cavas T. (2004). A karyological analysis of Garra rufa (Heckel, 1843)(Pisces, Cyprinidae) from the Eastern Mediterranean River basin in Turkey. Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, 28: 497-500. Haddon M. (2011). Modelling and Quantitative Methods in Fisheries. 2th edition. CRC Press, New York, USA. 449 p. Hamidan N., Britton J.R. (2013). Length‐weight relationships for three fish species (Capoeta damascina, Garra rufa, and Nemacheilus insignis) native to the Mujib Basin, Jordan. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 29(2): 480-481. Hasankhani H., Keivany Y., Raeisi H., Pouladi M., Soofiani N.M. (2013). Length-weight relationships of three cyprinid fishes from Sirwan River, Kurdistan and Kermanshah provinces in western Iran. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 29: 1170-1171. Hasankhani M., Keivany Y., Daliri M., Pouladi M., Soofiani N.M. (2014). Length–weight and length– length relationships of four species (Barbus lacerta, Pseudorasbora parva, Squalius lepidus and Oxynoemacheilus angorae) from the Sirwan River, western Iran. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 30: 206- 207. Hashemzadeh I., Tabatabaei S.N., Mansouri A., Abdoli A., Ghalenoei M., Golzarianpour K. (2015). Length- weight relationships of Garra rufa, in the Tigris and Persian Gulf basins of Iran. International Journal of Aquatic Biology, 3(1): 25-27. Patimar R., Chalanchi M.G., Chamanara V., Naderi L. (2010). Some life history aspects of Garra rufa (Heckel, 1843) in the Kangir River, Western Iran: (Osteichthyes: Cyprinidae). Zoology in the Middle East, 51(1): 57-66. Radkhah A., Eagderi S. (2015). Length-weight and length-length relationships and condition factor of six cyprinid fish species of Zarrineh River (Urmia Lake basin, Iran). Iranian Journal of Ichthyology, 1: 61-64. Shabani A., Askari G. (2013). Microsatellite loci to determine population structure of Garra rufa (Heckel, 1843) in the Khuzestan Province (Iran). International Journal of Aquatic Biology, 1(4): 188-194. Shabani A., Askari G., Moradi A. (2013). Genetic variation of Garra rufa fish in Kermanshah and Bushehr provinces, Iran, using SSR microsatellite markers. Molecular Biology Research Communications, 2(3): 81-88. Stiassny M.L., Getahun A. (2007). An overview of labeonin relationships and the phylogenetic placement of the Afro‐Asian genus Garra Hamilton, 1922 (Teleostei: Cyprinidae), with the description of five new species of Garra from Ethiopia, and a key to all African species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 150(1): 41-83. Teimori A., Esmaeili H.R., Ansari T.H. (2011). Micro- structure consideration of the adhesive organ in doctor Fish, Garra rufa (Teleostei; Cyprinidae) from the Persian Gulf Basin. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 11(3). Vazirzadeh A., Zahedinejad S., Bahri A. (2015). Spawning induction in doctor fish, Garra rufa (Heckel, 1843) by Ovaprim and captive rearing of larvae. Iranian Journal of Ichthyology, 1(4): 258-265. Int. J. Aquat. Biol. (2015) 3(6): 409-413 E-ISSN: 2322-5270; P-ISSN: 2383-0956 Journal homepage: www.ij-aquaticbiology.com © 2015 Iranian Society of Ichthyology چکیده فارسی های آبریز مختلف ایران ها و حوضهرودخانه در Garra rufaهای طول جمعیت-وزن و طول -روابط طول 2، سهیل ایگدری1، ساالر درافشان1االسالمینظام لیع ،*1یزدان کیوانی .ایران ،65141-11111ستی پکد،اصفهان ،صنعتی اصفهان، دانشگاه گروه منابع طبیعی )بخش شیالت(1 .گروه شیالت، دانشکده منابع طبیعی، دانشگاه تهران، کرج، ایران2 چکیده: و هرمز را بوشهر، کرخه، کارون، دجلهدر حوضه های آبریز ایران شامل Garra rufaجمعیت ماهی 21طول -وزن و طول-این مطالعه روابط طول ریب مقادیر ض ،هادر بیشتر جمعیت شود.زارش میگبرای اولین بار مطالعه برداری در اینهای نمونهوزن بیشتر مکان-روابط طول نماید.توصیف می b بود که 1تر از داری بزرگمعنی به طور باین ضری هایعنی الگوی ایزومتریک نشان نداد، در تعداد اندکی از جمعیت 1 عدد تفاوت معنی داری را از بود که بیانگر الگوی رشد 1داری کمتر از عدد نیز مقدار این ضریب به طور معنی هابود، و در برخی از جمعیت هاآن بیانگر رشد آلومتریک مثبت دهنده الگوی رشد ایزومتریک این گونه در نداشت که نشان 1داری از عدد ها، این ضریب تفاوت معنیباشد. در کل نمونهها میآلومتریک منفی آن های مورد بررسی است.حوضه .حیاتچرخه ،رشد ،دکتر ماهی ،کپورماهیان :کلمات کلیدی