Growth of chub (Leuciscus cephalus): the lower Rhone (South France), a very favourable environment.
K. Beaugelin-Seiller and C. Rommens Verh. Internat. Verein Limnol., 28, 1504-1507 Stuttgart, October 2002
The chub is a common fish, widely distributed in Europe and Asia Minor. It is found in many environments, ranging from creeks to large rivers, and fro fresh to brackish waters. It feeds on algae, macrobenthos, small fish, and frogs, i.e. mainly what it finds in its environment. With such broad characteristics, its growth varies significantly between locations. This was clear from a brief review of the literature, which was carried out as a validation exercise of an assessment code, for which it was necessary to verify that information on the age of some chubs captured in the lower Rhone met the modelling hypotheses of the code. Due to the great variability of growth models, a specific biometric relation, presented herein, was built, which shows that the conditions in the lower Rhone are very favourable for the growth of chub. This relation has also proven useful in describing a key biological component in a safety assessment tool.