Investigation of Fluctuating Asymmetry in the Four Otolith Characters of Merlangius merlangus Collected from Middle Black Sea

Fluctuating asymmetry was calculated for the otolith width, length, area and perimeter of Merlangius merlangus caught in the Middle Black Sea. In the present study, M. merlangus samples were divided nine-total length groups. All total length groups were examined for asymmetry values in the otolith characters, the highest asymmetry values were found in the Group III. The lowest asymmetry values in four otolith characters such as area, length, perimeter, and width were calculated in the Group I and Group IX. In this study, it was determined that the otolith asymmetry levels of M. merlangus in the Middle Black Sea were varied between the four otolith characters, the otolith area has the highest and the otolith length has the lowest asymmetric feature. In addition, there was no significant relationship between the asymmetry values of the four otolith characters and total length. The asymmetry in these otolith characters may be a result of the stress from different pollutants in the Black Sea