Seasonal variation in the mean diameter of oocyte in the most advanced vitellogenic stage in females in the
spawning capable reproductive phase
In this study, we tested the hypothesis that offspring quality declines with successive
spawning, given the potentially antagonistic relationship between reproduction and somatic growth in a freshwater caridean shrimp with direct development.
The data set for the statistical analyses contained information on 451 females and estimated the
spawning probability (presence or absence of
spawning), multiple
spawning (females with more than one
spawning) and
spawning frequency (number of
spawning obtained per female during the evaluation period).
"While reproductive success during split
spawning may be lower than usual because it can lead to reduced fertilisation, we found that the release of eggs in two separate smaller events gives the corals a second and improved chance of finding a new home reef."
Large variance in GI in a given month was taken as evidence of
spawning season because it suggests that both gravid (high GI) and recently spawned (low GI) individuals were present at that time point.
Specifically, we evaluated differences in
spawning seasonality, batch fecundity, and
spawning interval across time.
In the western Caribbean, fishers from Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras traditionally harvest
spawning aggregations of groupers (Epinephelidae) and snappers (Lutjanidae) over high relief areas of the fore reef (Craig, 1966; Castro-Perez et al., 2011; Heyman & Granados-Dieseldorff, 2012).
Studies using visual observation of reproductive interactions can be limited because (a) instream conditions do not always allow for visual observation, (b) reproductive interactions vary spatially with changing instream conditions determining interaction outcomes (Peoples and Frimpong, 2016), and (c) interactions vary temporally, with different associate species participating (and perhaps performing different functions) throughout the
spawning season or at night when observations are difficult to make (Maurakis and Woolcott, 1996).
Female spottail darters do not participate in egg defense, but leave the nest site immediately after
spawning. It is not known whether females spawn multiple times during a breeding season (fractional
spawning) or just once.
Spawning and spent ovaries were found in the months of April and May and to some extent in October and November.
Gambusia nobilis occur at high densities in their native habitat and commonly aggregate around
spawning pupfish pairs, suggesting that they might be preying upon newly deposited eggs of C.
Key words: aquarium, behavior, egg mass, fertilization, Lingcod, milt, Ophiodon elongatus,
spawning