New data on the ecology of kutum, Rutilus frisii (Nordmann, 1840) from the Caspian Sea

Abstract– In the anadromous cyprinid kutum, Rutilus frisii (Nordmann, 1840) from the Anzali Lagoon, Iran, the following hitherto unrecorded characters were found. The complex life-style of juvenile kutum is reflected directly in their body size and preferred habitat, and indirectly in their growth rate and the formation of scale annuli. The early juveniles did not move downstream to the feeding grounds in the sea as they are supposed to do in populations inhabiting the Caucasian coast of the Caspian sea, but most of them spend one or two years in fresh or brackish water. Moreover, most kutum scales carried one or two juvenile marks. It appears that the time spent in fresh water is inversely proportional to the age of the kutum. On average about 43% of fish 2 years old and older, spent their first year in fresh or brackish water, while 57% spent two years there. The rate of growth in length is substantially different in both groups. Fish that enter the sea in their second year of life grew faster but their life span seems to be shorter than those which spent two years in fresh or brackish water.