Natural Habitat Conditions in a Captive Environment Lead to Spawning of Spotted Gar

Frenette, Bryan D.; Snow, Richard A.

doi:10.1080/00028487.2016.1167776

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Gars demonstrate gregarious spawning behavior wherein two to eight males court one female during spawning events (Ferrara ; Mendoza et al. ; Frenette and Snow ). Therefore, the use of a smaller spawning environment may reduce the need to use multiple males per female during spawning since the milt will be more concentrated and may optimize fertilization rates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Willow Salix sp. branches were cut (1.5–1.8‐m length), bundled (5–6 branches/bundle), and added to each swimming pool as spawning substrate (similar to Frenette and Snow ; Snow et al. ; Figure ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite best efforts to replicate natural spawning conditions in hatchery ponds, a hormone is typically used to stimulate spawning (Mendoza et al. ; Frenette and Snow ; Snow et al. ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The gregarious spawning behavior in gars (2–8 males to 1 female; Mendoza et al. ; Frenette and Snow ) and difficulties in harvesting juveniles from hatchery ponds (due to the dense natural vegetation in ponds) may be affecting larval Alligator Gar production. Spawning of Alligator Gars in smaller, controlled environments may result in increased production.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Efficacy of Spawning Alligator Gars in Recreational‐Grade Swimming Pools

Porta¹,

Snow²,

Graves

2019

N American J Aquac

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Alligator Gar Atractosteus spatula numbers have declined throughout much of the species’ historic range due to anthropogenic effects (habitat alteration or loss, commercial fishing, and recreational fishing). As a result, many conservation agencies now rely on hatchery production of Alligator Gars to aid in recovery and reintroduction efforts. Because of difficulty in harvesting juvenile Alligator Gars from hatchery ponds, we evaluated the use of recreational‐grade swimming pools (4.6 m in diameter × 1.2 m deep) for spawning Alligator Gars, as this may result in increased production and more efficient harvest of juveniles. In May 2018, two recreational‐grade swimming pools were used to successfully spawn Alligator Gars, producing a total of approximately 159,000 fingerlings. Recreational‐grade swimming pools provided an efficient, low‐cost environment for the spawning of Alligator Gars. Alligator Gar fingerlings can be harvested from these pools with near 100% efficiency. Furthermore, this method reduced the need to use multiple males per female during spawning because they are confined to a small spawning environment. The use of recreational‐grade swimming pools for the culture of Alligator Gars resulted in refinement and increased efficiency in spawning this species, thereby offering a technique that should enhance Alligator Gar restoration efforts by increasing hatchery production capabilities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite best efforts to replicate natural spawning conditions in hatchery ponds, a hormone is typically used to stimulate spawning (Mendoza et al. ; Frenette and Snow ; Snow et al. ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Efficacy of Spawning Alligator Gars in Recreational‐Grade Swimming Pools

Porta¹,

Snow²,

Graves

2019

N American J Aquac

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“…). Fish were returned to the holding tanks, and branches from white willow Salix alba were added to act as spawning substrate (Frenette and Snow ). Spotted Gars spawned 24–36 h after injection.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Posthatch Development of Otoliths and Daily Ring Genesis in Age‐0 Spotted Gars

Long

Snow²

2018

Trans Am Fish Soc

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Gars (Lepisosteidae) are increasingly being managed as top‐level predators that are important to overall ecosystem health. Given the paucity of information on early life history for many species, additional early life history data would aid in gar conservation and management. Daily rings in otoliths are useful for determining many early life history parameters, such as growth rates and the date of hatch, but properly interpreting these structures requires additional information on otolith formation. Gars represent an ancient lineage, and their otoliths are unlike those of most teleost fishes, having multiple nuclei and being covered on the surface with very small otoconia. We used computed tomography X‐ray scanning and oxytetracycline (OTC) marking of a series of known‐age fish from hatch through 10–12 d posthatch (dph) to understand the formation of otoliths in the Spotted Gar Lepisosteus oculatus, a species that is of management concern in several parts of its range in North America. The sagittae and lapilli each began as loose associations of otoconia at hatch; they fused and hardened into single crystals by 4 dph, in concert with the transition from attached larvae to free‐swimming juveniles. Asteriscus otoliths were not observed in any of the individuals examined through 12 dph. The OTC marks were not observed on individuals treated at hatch, and variable marks were detected at 1–5 dph. By 6 dph, 100% of individuals exhibited OTC marks on sagittae and lapilli. Daily rings could not be discerned until fish were marked at 4 dph, after which daily age estimates increased linearly with fish age. Results of this study verify that in Spotted Gars, otoliths (sagittae and lapilli) and their daily rings form several days after hatch, in relation to the transition from sessile, attached larvae to free‐swimming juveniles.

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Genetic variation and biogeography of the spotted gar Lepisosteus oculatus from core and peripheral populations

David

Wright

2017

J Exp Zool Pt B

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The spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) shows a disjunct natural distribution, with a core population extending from the central Mississippi River Basin to the U.S. gulf coast and a peripheral population in the southern Great Lakes Basin. Despite significant conservation concerns for this species in the Great Lakes watersheds where it occurs, few genetic examinations and comparisons of these populations have been performed. We investigated inter- and intrapopulational variation in several mitochondrial genetic markers (cytochrome oxidase subunit I, COI; cytochrome oxidase subunit II, COII; and 16S rRNA, 16S) from spotted gars taken from core and peripheral populations. Genetic diversity was highest in the Mississippi River Basin and lowest in the Great Lakes Basin, while the Nueces River Basin (Texas) population showed the greatest level of divergence from other populations. Average genetic distance among core and peripheral populations was over an order of magnitude less than that seen between L. oculatus and its sister species, the Florida gar (L. platyrhincus), although a significant correlation was found between genetic and geographical distance in L. oculatus. Genetic divergence in spotted gars is likely to be related to a combination of geographic isolation and founder effects associated with recent colonization following glacial retreat. Despite its apparent lack of significant genetic differentiation or haplotype diversity, the Great Lakes population of spotted gars has previously been shown to be a unique component of the species, and additional studies are needed to determine the genetic mechanisms underlying regional adaptations as well as potential morphological differentiation among spotted gar populations.

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Natural Habitat Conditions in a Captive Environment Lead to Spawning of Spotted Gar

Cited by 7 publications

References 19 publications

Efficacy of Spawning Alligator Gars in Recreational‐Grade Swimming Pools

Efficacy of Spawning Alligator Gars in Recreational‐Grade Swimming Pools

Posthatch Development of Otoliths and Daily Ring Genesis in Age‐0 Spotted Gars

Genetic variation and biogeography of the spotted gar Lepisosteus oculatus from core and peripheral populations

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