Skeletochronological studies of cyclical growth of freshwater fishes in French Guiana. A review

This review draws together results obtained from studies of various fish species from French Guiana: Arius couma, A. proops, A. parkeri and Hoplosternum littorale (Siluriformes), Leporinus friderici, Prosomyleus rhomboidalis and Tometes lebaili (Characiformes). The skeletochronological approach provides data about their growth patterns. Some species display two growth cycles each year, whereas others have only one cycle. Whatever the annual growth scenario, the amount of food, abundant during the rainy seasons due to the flooding of the forest floor, probably regulates the growth rate. Skeletochronological techniques provide various biological data for fishes captured in the wild: growth performance, age at the first spawning, longevity and some biological characteristics of bone tissue.