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Use of sex steroid profiles and hematological indices to identify perinucleolus and migratory gonadal stages of captive Siberian sturgeon A cipenser baerii (Brandt, 1869) females
Author(s) -
Falahatkar B.,
Akhavan S. R.,
Poursaeid S.,
Hasirbaf E.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of applied ichthyology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.392
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1439-0426
pISSN - 0175-8659
DOI - 10.1111/jai.12616
Subject(s) - biology , mean corpuscular volume , sturgeon , hemoglobin , mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration , sexual maturity , mean corpuscular hemoglobin , acipenser , testosterone (patch) , white blood cell , zoology , physiology , endocrinology , medicine , andrology , fish <actinopterygii> , immunology , fishery , biochemistry
Summary This study describes the sex steroid profiles and hematological indices of 5‐year‐old reared female Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii, at perinucleolus and migratory stages to ascertain whether they are influenced by the maturity stage. Fish of 2923 g mean weight and 89 cm mean length were reared in rectangular concrete tanks (25 × 3 × 0.6 m, mean water temperature 16.2 ± 2.2°C, fed a diet with 38.2% crude protein and 7% crude fat in 10 kg m −2 ). Blood samples were taken for serum steroid levels, including 17‐ β estradiol (E 2 ), testosterone (T), 17 α ‐hydroxy progesterone (P) and hematological indices (packed cell volume, hemoglobin, red blood cells, white blood cells, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration as well as leukocyte differential counts). Hematological indices and the leukocyte differential count showed no significant differences among fish at the perinucleolus and migratory stages. The results indicated significant differences in E 2 levels among fish at the perinucleolus and migratory stage, but the T and P levels showed no significant differences between stages. This study indicates that serum sex steroid measurements and histological observations can segregate females effectively at the perinucleolus and migratory stages; however, the hematological parameters did not discriminate females at these stages. Such observations provide basic information to achieve a method to determine with high accuracy the stage of sexual maturity, for better sturgeon aquaculture management.