Re-description of the growth pattern of four decapod species by information theory

ABSTRACT

The growth pattern of four commercial decapod crustacean species (Arenaeus cribrarius, Ucides cordatus, Palaemon longirostris and Plesionika izumiae) was reanalyzed using published data. Six candidate growth models with asymptotic and non-asymptotic characteristics were tested. The best model was determined by information theory, according to Bayesian (BIC) and Akaike (AICc) information criteria and the weight of evidence in favour of model i (Wi). For U. cordatus, P. izumiae and the females of A. cribrarius, the best growth model corresponded to case 1 of Schnute model. In male A. cribrarius, the highest Wi was observed for the case 1 of Schnute model according to both criteria, but seasonal models were also plausible to describe growth. In P. longirostris, discrepancies were observed between criteria. The BIC supported the case 1 of Schnute in females, but the AICc did not identify a winner model (Wi > 90%); the case 1 and case 4 of Schnute displayed the highest Wi. The males that exhibited the highest Wi values were Schnute case 4 > Schnute case 3 > von Bertalanffy > Gompertz > Logistic. This study highlights the importance of considering different assumptions in growth patterns of the species and does not impose any a priori mathematical framework to available data.

Abbreviations: AIC: Akaike Information Criterion. BIC: Bayesian Information Criterion

Impact Statement

• The multi-model approach improves the model selection based on information criteria to re-describe patterns of growth in some decapod crustaceans.

• The von Bertalanffy growth model is not appropriate to describe the growth pattern based on the available data.

• The growth patterns found were asymptotic and not asymptotic, described mainly through the Schnute model.

KEYWORDS:

• Individual growth
• multi-model approach
• AIC
• BIC
• von Bertalanffy

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Pinheiro M.A.A. for sharing the data of Arenaeus cribrarius and Ucides cordatus used in this study, and Graham Hope for the suggestions for improving the language. The first author is grateful to the information center (‘Infocentro’) of the Rocafuerte city (Manabí, Ecuador) for allowing the use of the installations in the writing of this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.