Accuracy of sex determination for northeastern Pacific Ocean thornyheads (Sebastolobus altivelis and S. alascanus)

Determining the sex of thornyheads (Sebastolobus alascanusand S. altivelis) can be difficult under field conditions. We assessed our ability to correctly assign sex in the field by comparing results from field observations to results obtained in the laboratory through both macroscopicand microscopic examination of gonads. Sex of longspine thornyheads was more difficult to determine than that of shortspine thornyheads and correct determination of sexwas signif icantly related to size. By restricting the minimum size of thornyheads to 18 cm for macroscopicdetermination of sex we reduced the number of fish with misidentified sex by approximately 65%.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fruh, Erica L., Keller, Aimee, Trantham, Jessica, Simon, Victor
Format: article biblioteca
Language:English
Published: 2010
Subjects:Biology, Ecology, Fisheries,
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1834/25409
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Summary:Determining the sex of thornyheads (Sebastolobus alascanusand S. altivelis) can be difficult under field conditions. We assessed our ability to correctly assign sex in the field by comparing results from field observations to results obtained in the laboratory through both macroscopicand microscopic examination of gonads. Sex of longspine thornyheads was more difficult to determine than that of shortspine thornyheads and correct determination of sexwas signif icantly related to size. By restricting the minimum size of thornyheads to 18 cm for macroscopicdetermination of sex we reduced the number of fish with misidentified sex by approximately 65%.