Asteriscus

Abstract: A total of 816 common carp Cyprinus carpio asteriscus otolith pairs were collected from Lake Gariep, South Africa. Otoliths were interpreted whole, submerged in methyl salicylate and viewed under transmitted light. The precision of growth zone counts of the primary reader was estimated at 5·54 and 7·03% using the average per cent error method and the coefficient of variation, respectively. Age-bias plots indicated no systematic bias between the primary reader and the three secondary readers for up to nine growth zones (95% of the sample). Growth zone deposition rate was validated using a mark–recapture experiment of chemically tagged C. carpio (n = 21) conducted in a large earthen pond under ambient conditions in the vicinity of Lake Gariep. The validation results were corroborated for the wild population by edge analysis and a length-based age-structured model. All three methods suggest that growth zone formation occurred biannually, exemplifying the importance of age validation as a prerequisite for understanding the life history of C. carpio. © 2010 The Authors

Abstract: The Asteriscus alliance comprises three genera (Asteriscus, Ighermia, and Pallenis) restricted to Macaronesia and the Mediterranean basin. This alliance is a member of the tribe Inuleae where it forms a distinct morphological group with low chromosome numbers (n = 5-7). The taxonomic boundaries of the three genera have been controversial, although previous morphological cladistic analyses support the monophyly of each genus. Phylogenetic comparisons of most taxa in the alliance and seven other genera of Inuleae were conducted using ITS sequences. Parsimony analyses support the monophyly of the Asteriscus alliance and identify four lineages. One group has two species (P hierochuntica and P maritima), and two lineages are monotypic (P spinosa and A. aquaticus). The fourth lineage includes the remaining 10 taxa of the Asteriscus alliance. Neither Asteriscus nor Pallenis, as currently defined, is monophyletic, and Ighermia is sister to the largest Asteriscus clade. All taxa distributed in Macaronesia, the arid African-Mediterranean basin, the Sahara region, and the Middle East (except P hierochuntica) are part of the largest lineage. At least two independent colonizations from northern Africa have occurred in Macaronesia, one involving A. schultzii and the second including the remaining five taxa endemic to the Cape Verde and the Canary Islands. The derived position of these endemics in the ITS tree suggests a recent colonization of the Macaronesian Islands from northern Africa. The ITS phylogeny is incongruent with previous morphological cladograms of the Inuleae because Buphthalmum and Xerolekia are not sister to the Asteriscus alliance. Several genera have their center of species diversity in a geographical zone defined by the Iberian peninsula, Morocco and Macaronesia. This area has a rich flora with at least 3,000 endemic species (Bramwell 1972; Quezel 1978, 1985; Gomez-Campo and Malato-Beliz 1985; Gomez-Campo et al. 1984; Greuter 1991; La Roche and Rodriguez-Pifiero 1994; Medail and Quezel 1997). The isolation of the 32 Macaronesian Islands and the existence of a high number of ecological niches in mountain ranges such as the Sierra Nevada in southern Spain and the Atlas systems of Morocco have facilitated the explosion of biodiversity in these regions (Greuter 1991; Medail and Quezel 1997). Major climatological changes of the late Tertiary were less dramatic in these regions and many organisms may have found refuge in this area (Axelrod 1975; Axelrod and Raven 1978; Quezel 1978; Bramwell 1985). Fur-

Abstract: Biometric data are presented for different fish species captured in four lakes of Turkey: crucian carp (Carassius gibelio), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), chub (Squalius cephalus), and pikeperch (Sander lucioperca). The length, breadth, and weight of otolith, (sagitta, asteriscus, and lapillus) were determined, and the relationships between otolith size and fork length were defined. All regressions were highly significant (P<0.05). In cyprinid fishes, (C. gibelio, C. carpio, and S. cephalus), asteriscus weight had the highest coefficient of determination among the asteriscus biometrics, and the lapillus length had the highest coefficient of determination among lapillus measurements for the same species. In S. lucioperca (Percidae), sagittal otolith weight was the best predictor of fish length.

Abstract: The Asteriscus alliance comprises three genera (Asteriscus, Ighermia, and Pallenis) restricted to Macaronesia and the Mediterranean basin. This alliance is a member of the tribe Inuleae where it forms a distinct morphological group with low chromosome numbers (n = 5-7). The taxonomic boundaries of the three genera have been controversial, although previous morphological cladistic analyses support the mono- phyly of each genus. Phylogenetic comparisons of most taxa in the alliance and seven other genera of Inuleae were conducted using ITS sequences. Parsimony analyses support the monophyly of the Asteriscus alliance and identify four lineages. One group has two species (P hierochuntica and P maritima), and two lineages are monotypic (P spinosa and A. aquaticus). The fourth lineage includes the remaining 10 taxa of the Asteriscus alliance. Neither Asteriscus nor Pallenis, as currently defined, is monophyletic, and Ighermia is sister to the largest Asteriscus clade. All taxa distributed in Macaronesia, the arid African-Mediterranean basin, the Sahara region, and the Middle East (except P hierochuntica) are part of the largest lineage. At least two independent colonizations from northern Africa have occurred in Macaronesia, one involving A. schultzii and the second including the remaining five taxa endemic to the Cape Verde and the Canary Islands. The derived position of these endemics in the ITS tree suggests a recent colonization of the Macaronesian Islands from northern Africa. The ITS phylogeny is incongruent with previous morphological cladograms of the Inuleae because Buphthalmum and Xerolekia are not sister to the Asteriscus alliance.