Effect of implanting a passive integrated transponder tag in juvenile chub, Squalius cephalus (L.), on their condition, growth and survival

Authors

  • Petra Horká Institute for Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Benátská 2, 128 01, Prague 2, Czech Republic
  • Pavel Horký Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 21, Prague 6, Czech Republic
  • Ondřej Slavík Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 21, Prague 6, Czech Republic

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/23361964.2019.13

Keywords:

condition, cyprinids, PIT tags, specific growth rate, tagging effect

Abstract

The effect of implanting a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag on the survival, growth and condition of a small cyprinid, juvenile chub Squalius cephalus (L.) with a mean weight of 2.4 g was studied in the laboratory. During this experiment, which lasted for 31 days, 80 specimens were tagged. The changes in Fulton’s condition factor (K), specific growth rate of mass (GM) and specific increase in length (LS) were evaluated. The results showed that implanting PIT tags did not affect the survival or growth of the fish; however, it had a negative effect on their condition. The initial size of the fish had a significant effect on the specific growth rate in terms of mass, but not in terms of length. Survival was 98.8% and tag retention 97.5%, when the tag made up 4.3% of the mass of the fish. These results demonstrate that PIT tagging is an appropriate method for chub heavier than 2 g. For this size category, we recommend that PIT tagging is suitable when the tag makes up 4.3% of the body mass of the individuals.

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Published

2019-12-28

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Section

Articles