Reproductive physiology of ribbon fish (Trichiurus lepturus)

The ribbon fishes ‘of the family Trichiuridac are represented as one of the most important food resources in Indian ocean. High density of the dominant species of ribbon fish (Trichiurus lepturus) in Oman sea and the 'Tillable catch in last yeas (more than 7000 tones per year) makes a trust area for studing their population biolog and stock assessment. As our knowledge on reproductive biology of this species has an important role on their fisheries management, as well as conservation of this stock from decline or over fishing, this research was held to determine some aspects of reproductive physiology of ribbon fish and the effects of environmental factors in gonadal cycle. The goals of the present thesis is to determine some aspects of reproductive physiology such as gonadosomatic index (GSI) , hepatosomatic index (HSI), condition factor (Ko, fecundity, sex ratio, size at first maturity, size at maturity (LM5O) and their relative hormonal & biochemical fluctuations. In this regards annual variation of sex hormones ic. estradiol 17-B, progestron, cortisol, testostrone and gonadotropins FSH (GTH-I) , LH (GTH-ll)I were measured ; gonadal histological studies were done by light & electron micrography. The research was carried out from April 1995 to January 19% in Ras Nleidani in the north part of Oman sea, and the environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, oxygen, rainfall and pH were measured. The effects of these parameters on reproductive cycle and hormonal fluctuationswere discussed by using correlation and principle component analysis (PCA). Female Ribbon fish reproductive strategy shows the same paterns of nonguarder marine teleosts. T. lepturus has more than one spawning season (existance of egges in different size in each month) and therfore it must have asynchronous ovaries and belong to continious spawners. GSI and HSI are good evidences for this type of reproductive patern. The testis of the lobular type , which is typical of most teleosts , is composed of numerous lobules which are separated from each other by a thin layer of fibrous connective tissue. GSI fluctuations revealed prolong- spawning time in males. There is significant increase in 17-13 estradiol. progestrone , cortisol and gonadotropins with maturity and prespawning period of female T lepturus. Plasma concentration of E2 and GTH II incresaed along with water temperature increasing (3300).. Spawning was observed from Nov. 1995 to Apr. 1996 in this species. Progestrone increased significantly with increasing rainfall in this season (P<0.01). Plasma cortisol levels increased with maturation and vitelpgenesis and also with the peak of spawning. From lenght-weight frequency and size distribution in each age groups and also minimum size at first maturity (52a cm) it would he concluded that T. lepturus must be matured at 2 years of age. Serum cholestrol and triglicerides significantly increased when maturation occured in this species. The relationship between alkaline phosphatase activity and hormonal fluctuations with maturity and vitelogenesis were discussed. Proximate compostion (muscle) shows significant variation with spawning period and maturity. Absolute individual fecundity (17420-159150) increased with body length and weight. Ultrastructural observations show dramatic variation in cell membrane (0ocyte membrane), yolk vesicles and, nucleolus dispersal in relation to maturity stages. fluctuations of gonadal hormones were discused in relation with vitelogenesis. Testosterone increased in males from Nov: to Mar. due to environmental impacts and spawning time. Sex ratio in different depth (10-40 m ,80-110 m) shows significnt differences in this ratio for two depths. In 10-40 m depth female shows dominant abundance to male in each months that may be due to their reproductive migration behaviour. The effects of temperature photoperiod and rainfall to maturity and spawning were discussed. According to -pawning period of T. leptunts in our sampling area it could be suggested that ribbon fish fi,theries must be restricted in the peak of spawning seasons (Feb. to Mar.) and in the spawning grounds (under 40 m depths). Other suggestions for population conservation have been mentioned.

On the ecology and explorations of the fisheries of an East African rift valley lake, Part 1: On the bionomics and population structure of Tilapia nilotica Linnaeus 1757 in Lake Baringo, Kenya

An ecological survey of the fisheries of Lake Baringo, Kenya was carried out between August, 1972 and August, 1973. The bionomics and population structure of T. nilotica is described. Sampling was done with multifilament gillnets of graded mesh sizes from 51 mm to 178 mm in approximately 12.5 mm increments. The Lake was divided into three sampling and ecologically different zones - the south, central and north zones. The size range of T. nilotica of both sexes caught was between 5 and 27 cm (mode 16 cm) with a mean length of 16.07 cm. For all the collections, males dominated (55.3%) and a higher proportion of males were caught in January, August and November. The smallest mature male and female was 9 and 10 cm respectively. Males grow faster and mature at larger sizes than females. 50% of all males and females mature at 17.4 and 16:4 cm respectively. The periods of intense spawning were between August and October and January to April. The Tilapia were feeding best in central and north zones and the feeding intensity was reduced in January. Two endoparasites Contracaecum sp. and Clinostomum sp. were isolated from the Tilapia. The "condition" of the fish was better in the north than in the other two zones.

Contribución al estudio biológico de Loligo brasiliensis Bl

A total of 592 individuals of Loligo brasiliensis from the Mar del Plata coastal fishing area (Buenos Aires prov., Argentina) have been studied during the 1961-1964 period. From a morphological point of view the population appears to be uniform and homogeneus. A brief description of this species is given in this paper since references in the literature are scarce from the time at which Blainville (1923) first described it. The only further references are found in D'Orbigny (1835), and Ferrusac (1839), and in Hoyle (1886), and Tyron Pilsbry (1879). In this paper the species was mentioned only as a bibliographical reference on morphological or biological conditions has been found in the literature. The distribution of this species ranges from Cuba, Brazil, Uruguay to the Argentine coast, probably down to the Gulf of San Jorge. The samples had been studied with respect to various body measurements by classifing the individuals in total length classes, since body length was considered the most significant measurement. The condition factor K has been calculated for different sexes and ages, for the various length classes. The results lead to the conclusion that the smaller the length the higher is the value obtained for K and viceversa. This is due to the fact that the length of the tentacle increases considerably with increasing size. Since the tentacle are quite light the factor K diminishes accordingly. The condition factor increases considerably from December to April with an average of 0.42, decrease and becomes stable from March to October, with an average of 0.30. This is a consequence of the ripening of the sex glands. The sex-ratios are as following: year 1961, 42 % female, 42 % male; year 1962, 51 % female, 45 % male; year 1963, 46 % female, 53 % male; year 1964, 26 % female, 42 % male, 32 % indif. The great percentage of 72 undifferentiated young individuals in the 1964 (March) sampling increases the ratio of undifferentiation. A short morphological description of both ovules and spermatozoos is given. An examination of the sex glands leads to the following conclusions: a) male and female sex gland in a preparatory stage during the whole year; b) the highest percentage of ripe glands is found through, November-March; e) the spawning appears to precede rather slowly, but this certain since the spawning environment does not coincide with the natural habitat of the species. Few spawning individuals were found; d) sexual differentiation begins at body lenght from 30 to 40 mm; i.e. a total length of approximately 145 mm. At a body length of 70 mm. the hectocotilication (sexual character) begins to appear. In June 1962, a sample gathered at Rawson (Chubut) was analyzed. The conclusion was reached that the sex glands in this population are in an earlier stage of development in comparison with those from the Mar del Plata area. Also the average for the factor K which were found to be 0.17 for females and 0.19 for male, are rather low for that date. These physiological facts are possibly related to morphological differences which will be pointed out in a forthcoming publication. Some very typical associations with Artemesia longinaris and Percophis brasiliensis were found. Cannibalism has been observed.

Morphometrics, length-weight relationship and condition of Rastrineobola argentea (Pellegrin 1904) in the Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria (Kenya)

Correlation between total length (TL), fork length (FL) and standard length (SL) of Raslrineobola argentea (pellegrin 1904) in the Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria indicate that FL = 0.92 TL - 0.74 and SL = 0.90 TL - 1.74. Length-weight relationship of log-transformed data shows that the slopes of the regression lines were 3.06 to 3.22 for juveniles, 2.70 to 3.05 for males and 3.24 to 3.71 for females. The slopes were significantly different between groups at at a =0.05. The Fulton's condition factor (K) was highest in December (1.019-1.073) and March/April (1.015-1.030) but lowest in June (1:00-1.025) for all stations. Significant differences between groups demands for the use of different growth models for juveniles, males and females especially for the von Bertalanffy growth equation which uses length-weight relationship. Observed cyclic viations in condition factor suggests two peak breeding seasons for this species in the Winam Gulf. The practical lmplications of these results in stock assessment using length-based fish stock assessment methods is briefly discussed.