Laith Jawad & Zahra Sadighzadeh Water Research and Management, Vol. 2, No.

2 (2012) 61-66

Otolith mass asymmetry in three pelagic fish species

collected from the Persian Gulf near Bandar Abbas

Laith Jawad1 and Zahra Sadighzadeh2

1
Marine Science and Fisheries Centre, Ministry of Fisheries Wealth, P.O. Box 427, Postal Code 100,
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. E-mail: laith_jawad@hotmail.com
2
Marine Biology Department, Faculty of Marine Science & Technology, Islamic Azad University,
Hesarak, Tehran, Islamic, Republic of Iran.

Abstract
The mass asymmetry in the otolith of the three pelagic fish species, Encrasicholina punctifer (Family:
Engraulidae), Sardinella sindensis (Family: Clupeidae) and Sillago sihama (Family: Sillaginidae) collected
from the Persian Gulf near Bandar Abbas was calculated. Saccular otolith mass asymmetry, x, can be
defined as the difference between the mass of the right and left paired otoliths divided by the average otolith
mass. The results showed that the absolute value of x in these three species does not depend on the length
of the fish and the otolith growth rate, although the absolute value of the otolith mass difference decreases
with the fish length. This result coincides with the results obtained for the otolith mass asymmetry in other
symmetrical fish species. The value of x for the three species did not exceed the range of -0.2 and +0.2.
Keywords: Otolith, Mass Asymmetry, Persian Gulf, Iran, Pelagic Species

Introduction through which the physiological role of otolith mass

Otolith mass asymmetry can cause several adverse
types of behaviour in fish when they experience
weightlessness (Egrov and Samarin, 1970; Hoffman,
1977; Von Baungarten et al., 1982; De Jong et al.,
1996; Hilbig et al., 2002; Rehman and Anken, 2002;
Takabayashi and Ohmura-Iwasaki, 2003; Lychakov
and Rebane, 2004). Acoustic functionality of fish
might be changed and severely hindered due to
changes in the otolith mass asymmetry (Lychakov
and Rebane, 2005; Lychakov, 2006). In such
changes, the otolith mass asymmetry directly affects
the vestibular and auditory functions, however, the
exact quantitative morphological and physiological
bases of the otolith asymmetry are still unclear
(Lychakov, 2006). The lateral compact shape of the
fish otolith makes it requisite as a biological model
to assess the effect of otolith mass asymmetry
on the physiology of fish. Lychakov et al. (2006)
recommended that otolith mass asymmetry should
be quantified before any attempt to perform a study
of direct acoustic and space experiments on fish.
The compact shape of the otolith is always the
preferred shape to be used as a biological model
asymmetry can be assessed quantitatively. The
natural patterns of otolith mass asymmetry should
be quantified beforehand (Lychakov et al., 2006).
Studies on the otolith mass asymmetry in
different fish groups showed that the value of this
phenomenon falls within the range of -0.2< x < +0.2
or < 20% (Lychakov 1992; Lychakov et al. 1988;
Lychakov & Rebane 2004, 2005; Takabayashi and
Ohmura-Iwasaki, 2003). The previous authors have
also concluded that the value of the otolith mass
asymmetry did not correlate with the length or
weight of the fish. Such results could be attributed to
the otolith mass fluctuation (Lychakov and Rebane,
2004, 2005).
In most symmetric fish species, the value of the
otolith mass asymmetry is well below critical,
thus they do not experience functional affliction
(Lychakov and Rebane, 2005; Lychakov et al.,
2006). Several authors (Egorov and Samarin, 1970;
Lychakov, 1992; Samarin, 1992; Lychakov, 2002;
Scherer 2001) have suggested that the mass of right
and left paired otoliths are generally not equal and
it is this difference that might be considered among
the important factors that impaired the quality of
reception of fish in acoustic environments.

UDK: 591.485:597.5(267.35) 61
 Laith Jawad & Zahra Sadighzadeh Water Research and Management, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2012) 61-66
The objective of the present study is firstly, to
quantify and compare the value of the otolith mass
asymmetry range in three pelagic fish species in
question, secondly, to assess the variability of this
asymmetry during the growth of these species. No
previous work has been done on Iranian fish with
regard to otolith mass asymmetry. Thus, the present
work is considered as additional information in this
field for Iranian fish fauna.
Materials and Methods
Fish specimens (30) of E. punctifer, S. sindensis and
S. sihama were collected on 13 June 2007 from the
Persian Gulf near Bandar Abbas. Standard length
was measured following the procedure of Lychakov
et al.( 2006) prior to the removal of otoliths. Otoliths
from both sides of the head of fish were dissected out
from the auditory capsules, then rinsed in distilled
water and air dried at room temperature for several
days. The weight of the otoliths was then measured
using a Sartorius TE 313S analytical balance to the
accuracy of 0.0001g.
The otolith mass asymmetry (x) was calculated from
the formula: x = (MR ML) M-1, where MR and ML
are the otolith masses of the right and left paired
otoliths and M is the mean mass of the right and left
paired otoliths.
In theory, the x value can vary between -2 and 2, and
x = 0 represents the absence of mass asymmetry
(MR ML), whereas x = -2 or x = 2 represents the
maximum asymmetry (absence of one otolith). The
positive value of x means that the right otolith mass is
larger than the left paired otolith mass and a negative
sign means the opposite.
Figure 1: Saccular otolith mass asymmetry x in Encrasicholina punctifer as a function of
the total length of the fish
62
The relationship between the species absolute value
of x and the species otolith growth rate was studied.
The absolute value of the species otolith mass
asymmetry is calculated as the average individual
value.
Results
For E. punctifer, the mean value of x is 0.0068+
0.0407, n = 30 (Fig. 1) and the value of IXI is
0.0348+ 0.0191, n = 30 (Fig. 2). For S. sindensis,
the mean value of x is 0.0063+ 0.0654 (Figure 3)
and the value of IXI is 0.0499 + 0.041762, n = 30
(Fig. 4) and for S. sihama, the mean value of x is
-0.0013 + 0.0248, n = 30 (Fig. 5) and the value of
IXI is 0.0184 + 0.0163, n = 30 (Fig. 6). According
to the regression analysis there was no relationship
between fish length and both IXI (y = 0.0028x +
0.015) (P > 0.05, R2 = 0.0043) and x (y = 0.0415x -
0.2818) (P > 0.05, R2 = 0.2012) for E. punctifer, (y =
-0.0064x + 0.1017) (P > 0.05, R2 = 0.0139) and x (y
= -0.0047x + 0.0317) (P > 0.05, R2 = 0.0031) for S.
sindensis and (y = -0.0026x + 0.0587) (P > 0.05, R2
= 0.094) and x (y = -0.0009x + 0.0122) (P > 0.05, R2
= 0.0046) for S. sihama.
For the three species in question, the relation
between the otolith mass difference (MR ML)
and fish length was more complex than the relation
between x and fish length (n = 30, for E. punctifer,
total length = 64-77 mm, P > 0.05, y = 0.258x -
1.7459, R2 = 0.2055) (Fig. 7), for S. sindensis,
standard length 72-107 mm, P> 0.05, y = 0.0533x
- 0.1198, R2 = 0.0269 (Figure 9) and for S. sihama,
standard length= 127- 201 mm, P>0.05, y = -0.0132x
+ 0.1821 + 0.0295 (Figure 9). The saccular otolith
mass difference decreases with fish length.
Laith Jawad & Zahra Sadighzadeh Water Research and Management, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2012) 61-66

Figure 2: Absolute otolith mass asymmetry in Encrasicholina punctifer as function of the

total length of the fish

Figure 3: Saccular otolith mass difference in Encrasicholina punctifer as a function of

the total length of the fish

Figure 4: Saccular otolith mass asymmetry x in Sardinella sindensis as a function of the

standard length of the fish

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 Laith Jawad & Zahra Sadighzadeh Water Research and Management, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2012) 61-66

Figure 5: Absolute otolith mass asymmetry in Sardinella sindensis as function of the

standard length of the fish

Figure 6: Saccular otolith mass difference in Sardinella sindensis as a function of the

standard length of the fish

Figure 7: Saccular otolith mass asymmetry x in Sillago sihama as a function of the

standard length of the fish

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Laith Jawad & Zahra Sadighzadeh Water Research and Management, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2012) 61-66

Figure 8: Absolute otolith mass asymmetry in Sillago sihama as function of the standard
length of the fish

Figure 9: Saccular otolith mass difference in Sillago sihama as a function of the

standard length of the fish

Discussion the three species in question (Lychakov et al.,

The value of x of E. punctifer, S. sindensis and S.
sihama falls between -0.2 and +0.2 as in the case
of other marine fish species (Lychakov et al., 2008).
The saccular otolith mass asymmetry was less
than 0.05, a result that coincided with the value of
mass asymmetry obtained for a large number of
marine species (Lychakov et al., 2006) and did not
depend on otolith growth rate. As a characteristic of
the pelagic fish species and as it differs from that
of littoral and bottom fish species (Lychakov and
Rebane, 2004), the saccular otolith mass difference
of the three species in question decreases with the
fish length.
In their mathematical modelling, Lychakov and
Rebane (2004, 2005) have shown that otolith mass
asymmetry might affect the acoustic and vestibular
functionality of a fish ear. However, otolith mass
asymmetry is shown to be very low (IXI,0.5) in a
great number of symmetric fish species including
2006). Such a low level of otolith asymmetry is
typical for utricular and lagenar otolith organs
of symmetric teleost fish. On the other hand, fish
species with large otoliths IXI>0.2 might, in theory,
hinder the sound processing of those species due to
the incompatibility and incongruity of the movement
of the two otoliths on both sides of the head of a fish
(Lychakov and Rebane (2005)).Therefore, most fish
species can avoid functional disability as their otolith
mass asymmetry is below the critical value.
The saccular otolith mass of the species studied
does not depend on fish size. This agrees with the
results obtained by other researchers on several
marine and freshwater fish species (Lychakov
and Rebane, 2004, 2005; Lychakov et al., 2006).
According to the mathematical model of Lychakov
et al. (2006), the value of x is probably stable during
the lifetime of a fish. However, it is unknown how
the fish maintain the right-left otolith symmetry
at a stable and low level (Lychakov et al., 2006).

65
 Laith Jawad & Zahra Sadighzadeh
Rahmman and Anken (2002) suggested a regulating
factor that controls the growth of the otolith via a
negative feedback loop between the brain and the
inner ear. This factor is the weight of the otolith
mass on the sensory epithelium. But other evidence
argues against this hypothesis, and it seems that
the otolith weight is not involved in the regulation of
its growth (Lychakov, 2002).
However, the complex relationship between the otolith
mass difference and fish length was obtained. In the
present work, no relationship has been established
between the fish length and otolith mass difference.
This is in agreement with the results obtained by
Lychakov and Rebane (2004, 2005) on several fish
species. Lychakov et al. (2006) suggested three
reasons for the absence of a relationship; (1) it
might be due to the small sample used in the study;
(2) when specimens have the same size range or do
not differ markedly in size; and (3) possible inherent
cause. These suggestions are evident in the data of
the three species in question as only 30 specimens
ranging in total length between 64-77 mm for E.
punctifer, in standard length between 72-107 mm
and 127- 201 mm for S. sindensis and S. sihama
respectively, were used in this work.
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