Autre titre: Etude comparative des caracteres biometriques chez l'huitre perliere Pinctada radiata des iles de kerkennah (sud tunisien)

Abstract

The variability of morphological characters and sexual maturity of the invasive pearl oyster Pinctada radiata were investigated within populations from Kerkennah islands using discriminant tests. During 2007, a total of 2360 and 2422 individuals were collected from sites El Kraten and El Jorf, respectively. The comparison of the averages and the variances of the biometric characters using the Fisher test 'F' and the Student test 't' revealed an important inter-population morphological variability between Kerkennah Island populations. Both multidimensional methods (Principal Components Analysis (ACP) and Discriminating Factor Analysis (AFD)), highlighted the high divergence between P. radiata populations. This finding could be related to the environmental and ecological conditions of the two bathymetric sites.