15 JUNE 1999
V. Vuthiphandchai, Y. Zohar-1999
Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 30(1): 65-72 (from Current Contents)
Abstract:
Three groups of captive-reared striped bass Morone saxatilis ages 1, 3 and 12 yr, were examined for age-related changes of sperm characteristics including short-term storage. All groups had similar ranges of the following parameters (mean +/- SEM): expressible milt (5.6 +/- 0.5 mL/kg body weight (BW) to 7.5 +/- 2.1 mL/kg BW), percentage of motile sperm (55 +/- 6% to 60 +/- 2%), duration of sperm motility (69 +/- 3 sec to 72 +/- 5 sec) and percentage of viable sperm (91 +/- 2% to 93 +/- 2%), Compared to the 1 and 12-yr-old fish, the 3-yr-old fish produced the greatest number of spermatozoa (1,190 +/- 370 x 10(9) spermatozoa/kg), sperm concentration (120 +/- 8 x 10(9) spermatozoa/mL) and spermatocrit (74 +/- 4%). In addition, during short-term storage at 4 C, extender-preserved sperm samples of the 3-yr-old group showed a significantly higher (P < 0.05) percentage of motile sperm and duration of sperm motility, compared to the other two groups. This suggests that short-term storage may be affected by the age of the male fish. Sperm longevity of the 3-yr-old group was successfully maintained for as long as 15 d, longer than that of the l-yr-old group (9 d) and 12-yr-old group (7 d), Overall, the 3-yr-old fish appeared to have superior sperm quality than the 1 or 12-yr-old fish based on higher sperm production and increased sperm longevity.
(Univ Maryland, Inst Biotechnol, 701 E Pratt St, Baltimore, MD 21202, USA)