The relationship of oocyte diameter and incubation temperature to incubation time in temperate freshwater fish species

Abstract

Based on the analysis of six egg variables and incubation temperature of 65 temperate freshwater fish species, the possible relationships between oocyte diameter, incubation time and incubation temperature were reassessed and compared to the results obtained from marine fishes. Most freshwater species have eggs (mean +/-s.d. 2.19 +/- 1.52 mm) larger than marine species, that are chiefly demersal and develop stuck to various substrata, such as plants or rocks. A strong negative relationship was found between incubation time (t, days) and incubation temperature (T, degrees C): t = 186.23e(-0.197T) (r(2)= 0.87). A strong dependence of incubation time on oocyte diameter (Ø, mm) and incubation temperature was also found and was defined as: log(10)t= 3.002 + 0.599 log(10)Ø - 1.91 log(10) (T + 2), which explained 92% of the variance of the data set. Five major groups of species were defined based on the principal component analysis (PCA) of four quantitative variables. There were two distinct groups of salmonids, displaying demersal and non-adhesive eggs with a long incubation time at low temperature, the eggs of which required a high number of degree-days. There was a large group of species possessing small, mostly demersal and adhesive eggs developing at high temperature during a short period of time, and requiring a low number of degree-days. Between these two extremes, there was a fourth group displaying intermediate values and a fifth group including three species with large, adhesive and demersal eggs incubating at high temperatures during a short period of time. The burbot Lota lota displayed an unusual combination of variables compared to the remaining species in the data set.

Biology and culture of the clown loachChromobotia macracanthus(Cypriniformes, Cobitidae) : 2- Importance of water movement and temperature during egg incubation

“…• C in the anostomid Leporinus frederici, Sanches et al 2008), and almost all warmwater or tropical fishes with semi-buoyant eggs and strong swelling hatch much sooner than predicted by any of the two aforementioned models (see the Chinese carps in Teletchea et al 2009 and a list of tropical species in Rodrigues-Galdino et al 2009). McDowall (2009 hypothesized that for amphidromous gobies, the shorter the time between fertilization and hatching, the higher the survival for a series of reasons, including shorter exposure to predators, longer transport at the larval stage and greater resistance to starvation as plenty of yolk remains at hatching.…”

“…The duration of egg incubation in fishes is governed by two factors essentially: egg diameter and water temperature (Pauly and Pullin 1988;Kamler 1992;Rombough 1997;Teletchea et al 2009), i.e. at a given temperature small eggs hatch sooner than large eggs and for a given egg size hatching occurs more rapidly at warm than at cold temperature.…”

“…at a given temperature small eggs hatch sooner than large eggs and for a given egg size hatching occurs more rapidly at warm than at cold temperature. Two main (log-log) models have been produced, one for marine species (Pauly and Pullin 1988) and one for temperate freshwater species (Teletchea et al 2009). The predictions of both models overestimate the duration of incubation in clown loach (by 30 to 40% and 54 to 58%, respectively, depending on temperature), thereby emphasizing that egg incubation is brief in this species.…”

“…Temperature is also the main factor controlling the duration of the incubation period, which is of importance for hatchery management. Models have been proposed that predict the duration of the incubation period of fish eggs on the basis of water temperature and egg diameter (marine fishes, Pauly and Pullin 1988; temperate freshwater fishes, Teletchea et al 2009). However, an overview of the literature on the development of tropical teleosts indicates that the duration of the incubation period is much more variable than in temperate freshwater or marine species, e.g., at 25…”

Effects of temperature on body chemical composition and incidence of deformities in juvenile tench, Tinca tinca (Actinopterygii: Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae), fed a commercial dry diet and/or natural food

“…Similar errors can appear when the effects of temperature on the body chemical composition are being considered. This seems especially important during the early life stages of fish, when their anatomy and physiology change considerably (Kamler 1992, Teletchea et al 2009). …”