Assessing growth band counts from vertebrae and dorsal-fin spines for ageing sharks: comparison of four methods applied to Heterodontus portusjacksoni

Four methods for counting growth bands using vertebrae and dorsal-fin spines of the Port Jackson shark, Heterodontus portusjacksoni, are compared. Both calcified structures presented observable growth bands, allowing cross comparison among structures for the first time in a shark species. Whole and sectioned vertebrae and dorsal fin-spines possess highly visible growth bands and intra-reader band counts resulted in similar precision indices with little systematic bias. However, inter-reader growth band count plots showed possible biases in counts from sectioned vertebrae and sectioned dorsal-fin spines. Sectioned vertebrae and whole and sectioned dorsal-fin spines produced similar growth band counts, whereas whole vertebrae produced significantly lower counts. The similar readability, precision indices, growth band counts and apparent absence of biases between counts for a single reader would indicate that sectioned vertebrae and whole and sectioned dorsal-fin spines are both potentially useful and acceptable methods for band counting. However, inter-reader comparisons are necessary to avoid acceptance of biased estimations, resulting in over- or under-estimations of age. Validation for all age classes is essential to determining accurate age estimations for this and other species.