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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #308462
Title: Pre-spawning parental stress affects channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus reproduction and subsequent progeny performance

Author
item Chatakondi, Nagaraj
item Peterson, Brian
item Evans, Joyce

Submitted to: Aquaculture America Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/31/2014
Publication Date: 2/19/2015
Citation: Chatakondi, N.G., Peterson, B.C., Evans, J.J. 2015. Pre-spawning parental stress affects channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus reproduction and subsequent progeny performance. Aquaculture America Conference. P. 98.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Routine fish handling procedures associated with seining, selecting, transportation, crowding, weighing, and stripping have shown to cause negative physiological responses to hatchery performance. In teleosts, cortisol is the main corticosteroid released during stress, and hence, plasma cortisol concentrations is used as a measure of stress response. Past studies suggest stressful handling of broodfish prior to spawning has impaired reproduction and the quality of the progeny produced. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the effects of pre-spawning parental stress of mature channel catfish on reproduction and progeny performance. Four–year old, mature channel catfish females were either subjected to standardized low DO stress (S) or no stress (NS) conditions, prior to hormone-induced spawning (20+80 ug mLHRHa/kg BW). Stripped eggs from an individual female were fertilized with pooled sperm from channel catfish males that were either stressed to low DO stress (S) or no-stress (NS) condition to produce 20 families. The average relative fecundity (4598 stripped eggs/kg BW), and hatch (17.9%) of stressed females were lower (P<0.05) than the average relative fecundity (5934 stripped eggs/Kg BW), and hatch (35.7%), of non-stressed females. Catfish families were reared in individual 80 L aquaria for 3 months. The average percent weight increase of the progeny produced by crossing stressed female and stressed male (Table 1) was 2.9, which was lower (P<0.05) than progeny sired from non-stressed female crossed either with non-stressed male (4.1), or stressed male (4.0). Results of ESC disease challenge, and low dissolved oxygen stress challenge of the progeny will be presented at the meeting. Our goal is to develop mitigating strategies to reduce the stressful handling of broodstock in hybrid catfish hatcheries to improve the efficiency of hatchery production.