Egg production in the euryhaline tilapia, Sarotherodon melanotheron heudelotii, experimentally maintained in fresh, sea and hypersaline waters

Abstract

Through the experiments presented here we wanted to test whether egg production of the black-chinned tilapia Sarotherodon melanotheron heudelotii under experimental conditions varies as a function of ambient salinity (fresh waters vs. sea waters vs. hypersaline waters, 0, 35 and 70, respectively) and whether these responses differ between fish acclimated within a few weeks from fresh water to saline and hypersaline environments (experiments E1 and E2, monitoring over 10 and 18 weeks), and individuals born and raised all life long at the experimental salinities (E3, monitoring over 18 weeks). In total, 233 spawns were collected. In each of the three experiments, the reproductive investment (gram of egg per gram of female over 2 weeks) did not differ between salinities of 0 and 35, whereas it was 2-3 times lower at 70 than at 0-35, because of lower spawning frequency (E1-E3), smaller clutch size (E1) and lower spawn mass (E1-E3). Finally, fish acclimated to salinity from fresh water over a few weeks and those maintained at a particular salinity all life long showed similar reproductive traits, thereby emphasizing the remarkable physiological plasticity of this species.