New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

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Age composition, growth, and reproduction of koi carp (Cyprinus carpio) in the lower Waikato region, New Zealand

Grant W. Tempero
Nicholas Ling
Brendan J. Hicks
Matthew W. Osborne

Centre for Biodiversity and Ecological Research
Department of Biological Sciences
School of Science and Engineering
The University of Waikato
Private Bag 3105
Hamilton, New Zealand
email: nling@waikato.ac.nz

Abstract A total of 566 koi carp (Cyprinus carpio) from the lower Waikato region were aged from scales and opercular bones, and growth was modelled with the von Bertalanffy growth function. There was no difference in growth rate between male and female carp. Growth of koi carp between zero and 3 years of age was lower than that of common carp in Europe and Australia. However, after 5 years of age the growth of koi carp was higher than that of common carp in Europe, but still below that of carp in Australia. Males rarely lived in excess of 8 years, whereas females lived to 12 years. Mean total fecundity calculated from 44 running-ripe females was 299 000 oocytes (±195 600 SD) (range 29 800–771 000). Relative fecundity ranged from 19 300 to 216 000 oocytes kg–1 total body weight, with a mean of 97 200 (±35 000 SD) oocytes kg–1. Feral koi carp in the Waikato are capable of multiple spawnings within their lifetimes. Within a spawning season, Waikato populations of feral koi carp contained females that spawned once, and females that had the potential to have spawned repeatedly. Female gonadosomatic index (GSI) varied with season and was negatively related to water temperature.

Keywords common carp; koi; age; growth; invasive species; maturity; fecundity

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 2006, Vol. 40: 571–583
0028–8330/06/4004–0571     © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2006
M05058; Online publication date 26 October 2006. Received 1 September 2005; accepted 17 January 2006

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