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Effect of long‐term injection of dopamine on the ovarian growth of C herax quadricarinatus juvenile females ( P arastacidae, D ecapoda)
Author(s) -
Tropea Carolina,
López Greco Laura S.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
acta zoologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.414
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1463-6395
pISSN - 0001-7272
DOI - 10.1111/j.1463-6395.2012.00575.x
Subject(s) - biology , gonadosomatic index , cherax quadricarinatus , juvenile , crayfish , oocyte , reproduction , crustacean , endocrinology , dopamine , medicine , zoology , andrology , fecundity , ecology , fishery , population , embryo , environmental health
The neurotransmitter dopamine ( DA ) modulates many physiological processes in decapod crustaceans, including reproduction. This study was aimed at evaluating whether the long‐term injection of DA affects ovarian growth in the freshwater crayfish C herax quadricarinatus . Three experiments were performed with females of different mean initial size: 4.15 g (Group A ); 9.65 g (Group B ); and 13.98 g (Group C ). Treated females were injected with DA and control females with physiological saline twice a week for 90 (Group B ), 105 (Group A ) and 120 (Group C ) days. At the end of the experiments, the animals were killed, and the stage of ovarian development, gonadosomatic index, and mean oocyte diameter were determined. DA had a differential effect according to female size: it negatively affected ovarian growth of females in a weight range of 4–14 g and had no effect on ovarian maturation when injected to females with an initial weight of 14 g. The results are compared with previous reports in freshwater decapod crustaceans.