Discrimination de trois populations d'anchois du genre engraulis (Clupeiforme, Engraulidae) des cotes tunisiennes par analyse de forme des otolithes

Abstract

Recently it has been confirmed genetically, the heterogeneity of anchovy colonizing the Mediterranean. In this work, we became interested in the study of this heterogeneity in Tunisian waters, through analysis and comparison of shapes of otoliths. Indeed, this method based on elliptic Fourier analysis is a powerful new technique. The Fourier descriptors are characterized by harmonics that each is represented by four coefficients. Statistical analysis of these factors allows the separation of specimens studied. Applying this technique allowed us to separate three populations of anchovies catched in Tunisian waters.