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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stuttgart, Arkansas » Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Cntr » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #129247
Title: MORPHOMETRIC AND LIPID CLASS COMPOSITION AS MEASURES OF CONDITION FOR SUNSHINE BASS FRY.

Author
item LOCHMAN, STEVE - UAPB
item Ludwig, Gerald

Submitted to: Book of Abstracts World Aquaculture Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/2/2000
Publication Date: 2/2/2000
Citation: LOCHMAN, S., LUDWIG, G.M. MORPHOMETRIC AND LIPID CLASS COMPOSITION AS MEASURES OF CONDITION FOR SUNSHINE BASS FRY.. BOOK OF ABSTRACTS WORLD AQUACULTURE SOCIETY. 2000. p.204.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Physiological condition measures are used compare populations from different locations or to examine the health of a single population through time. Larval condition may also predict year class abundance. We attempted to quantify in condition of larval sunshine bass raised in tanks. In study one, food levels of 50, 500, and 5000 prey per liter were maintained daily. In two subsequent studies, food levels ranged from 5, 000 to 15,000 and from 10,000 560 30,000 prey per liter. Fry were sampled weekly, videotaped live for morphometric analysis and preserved at 70C for subsequent lipid analysis. Morphometric analysis as conducted with image analysis software. Lipid class compositions of individual fry were determined with an Iatroscan TLC-FID system. Body measurement ratios most useful included head length/eye diameter, total length/eye diameter, total length to head depth, and eye diameter/body depth at pectoral fin insertion. The ratio of triacylglycearol to sterols was also determined as a measure of condition. We attempted to classify fry as either poorly or relatively well-fed on the basis of canonical discriminant analysis of morphometrics, lipid class composition, or a combination of the two data sets. We were successful in discriminationg poorly-fed from relatively well-fed from study 2, but were only marginally successful at discriminating starved from fed fry from study 3. These condition indices will be used to examine one and two-week-old fry from culture ponds in an attempt to predict survival during a typical 5-6 week production cycle.