MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND CONDITION OF BLEAK ALBURNUS ALBURNUS (TELEOSTEI; CYPRINIDAE) FROM THE BOSNA RIVER

Abstract

This paper presents data about morphological (morphometric and meristic) characteristics, Fulton’s condition factor (K) and length-weight relationship of bleak (Alburnus alburnus) from the Bosna River. The fish sampling was performed during December 2016 and the total of 101 bleak individuals was caught. On that occasion, 14 morphometric characteristics, body mass and six meristic characteristics were analyzed. As observed on the basis of morphometric characteristics, the bleak population from the Bosna River was dominated by smaller individuals which could be explained by the period of sampling (winter) and part of river where sampling was performed (coastal shallow part). The obtained values of the Fulton’s condition factor indicated that the bleak population from the Bosna River was in a relatively poor condition (0.61), while the parameter b indicated a negative allometric growth (b=2.8865) and the fish was characterized by a more intense length growth when compared to the mass growth. The obtained results regarding meristic parameters were mainly similar to the well-known data from the great body of work on the topic.