Open AccessEXAMINATION OF SPERMATOPHORE PRODUCTION BY LABORATORY‐MAINTAINED LOBSTERS ( Homarus )
Author(s) -
Talbot Prudence,
Hedgecock Dennis,
Borgeson Will,
Wilson Phillip,
Thaler Cathy
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
journal of the world mariculture society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1749-7345
pISSN - 0735-0147
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-7345.1983.tb00083.x
Subject(s) - spermatophore , homarus , biology , sperm , american lobster , insemination , zoology , gammarus , female sperm storage , ecology , fishery , crustacean , sperm competition , botany , amphipoda
Lobster aquaculture requires control of reproductive processes. We have previously described an electrical stimulation technique for collecting spermatophores from living lobsters ( Homarus americanus ). These spermatophores can potentially be used in a variety of ways including: 1) experimental manipulation of sperm, 2) artificial insemination of females, 3) sperm banking, and 4) evaluation of sperm production by the male. In this study, we evaluated spermatophore production and extrusion from: 1) laboratory reared H. americanus and H. gammarus , 2) stressed, wild‐caught H. americanus , and 3) laboratory bred and reared hybrid males from reciprocal interspecific crosses. Our results show that the extrusion technique can be used successfully on H. americanus , H. gammarus and hybrid males. Laboratory reared H. americanus and H. gammarus from both Aquaculture Enterprises and Bodega Marine Laboratory extruded spermatophores in 60–85% of all trials. The majority of these spermatophores were of high quality containing large sperm masses with morphologically normal sperm. Stressed H. americanus , obtained from a market in Sunset Beach, California, 24 hours after shipment from New England, extruded fewer spermatophores which were shorter in length and inferior in quality. Hybrid males extruded spermatophores possessing a morphologically normal wall, but lacking sperm. These results demonstrate that this electrical stimulation technique can be used to screen males for spermatophore production and identify certain types of infertility.