Length-weight relationships of Atherina boyeri Risso, 1810 and A. hepsetus Linnaeus, 1758 (Teleostei: Atherinidae) from some inland, brackish water and marine systems of Turkey

Members of Genus Atherina inhabit inshore marine environments as well as brackish and freshwater habitats. Growth properties of Atherina species remain poorly understood, despite their wide distribution. This study aims to present the length-weight relationships of Mediterranean sand smelt, Atherina hepsetus Linnaeus, 1758 and Big-scale sand smelt, Atherina boyeri from some inland, brackish water and marine systems of Turkey. During the study conducted from November 2014 to June 2017, a total number of 1183 fish specimens ranging from 2.5-15.4 cm in total length and 0.06-23.9 g in weight were analyzed. The slope value (b) of the length weight relationships obtained for A. boyeri and A. hepsetus were between 2.563-3.412 with an average value of 3.26 and between 2.523-3.118 with an average value of 2.81, respectively. While eight populations of A. boyeri showed negative allometric growth pattern, seven of them exhibited positive allometric growth pattern. The only one population of A. hepsetus showed positive allometric growth pattern, whereas its three populations had negative allometric growth pattern. This study also provides new maximum length recorded for A. hepsetus.