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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stuttgart, Arkansas » Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Cntr » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #179271
Title: COLLECTION, HANDLING, AND REFRIGERATED STORAGE OF SPERM FROM SOUTHERN FLOUNDER PARALICHTHYS LETHOSTIGMA AND FLORIDA POMPANO TRACHINOTUS CAROLINUS

Author
item RILEY, KENNETH - HBOI
item Weirich, Charles

Submitted to: Book of Abstracts Aquaculture America
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2004
Publication Date: 2/1/2005
Citation: Riley, K., Weirich, C.R. 2005. Collection, handling, and refrigerated storage of sperm from southern flounder Paralichthys lethostigma and Florida pompano Trachinotus carolinus [abstract]. Book of Abstracts, Aquaculture America. p. 369.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The development of a domestication and breeding program for marine foodfish requires the acquisition and maintenance of a large number of broodstock to conserve genetic variance and minimize inbreeding. For many research and commercial hatcheries, developing a large-scale breeding program is difficult because of the exorbitant operating expenses and intensive requirements for space and labor. Researchers at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and the USDA Agricultural Research Service have been working to develop a domestication program for southern flounder Paralichthys lethostigma and Florida pompano Trachinotus carolinus. These species support valuable sport and commercial fisheries and are prime candidates for aquaculture and stock enhancement programs. In order to improve hatchery techniques for Southern flounder and Florida pompano, procedures were developed for the collection, handling and refrigerated storage of sperm. Refrigerated sperm is useful for improving artificial fertilization by allowing efforts to be focused on maintaining female broodstock, monitoring oocyte development, increasing efficiency during the strip-spawning process, and comparing quality among males. The specific objectives of this study were to: 1) develop methods for collection of sperm from captive broodstock and testes from fish caught in the commercial fishery; 2) determine the osmotic pressures of blood and seminal fluid; 3) establish the relationship between sperm motility and osmotic pressure to allow for safe storage, and 4) evaluate the refrigerated storage of sperm extended in Hanks’ balanced salt solution at various concentrations. Sperm were collected from domesticated southern flounder broodstock (n = 6) in the winter of 2004. Testes and sperm were also collected from Florida pompano (n = 7), which were captured in the commercial fishery during the spring of 2004. Sperm collected were diluted 1:4 with calcium-free Hanks’ balanced salt solution (C-F HBSS) in 25-ml centrifuge tubes and transported to the laboratory on ice. Undiluted southern flounder seminal plasma had an osmotic pressure of 320 ± 5 mOsmol/kg while Florida pompano seminal plasma was 411 ± 45 mOsmol/kg. Activation studies of southern flounder and Florida pompano sperm found that motility was suppressed by decreasing the osmotic pressure of artificial seawater below 475 ± 20 mOsmol/kg. In a series of refrigerated storage experiments, flounder and pompano sperm suspended in 200 and 300 mOsmol/kg C-F HBSS retained motility for as long as 10 d at 4 C. This study demonstrated that sperm of southern flounder and Florida pompano can be stored for short-term repeated use in the hatchery.