Maternal age influences on reproductive rates in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

• Autor(a) principal: Valentin, Fernanda Nogueira [UNESP]
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Nascimento, Nivaldo Ferreira do [UNESP], Silva, Regiane Cristina da [UNESP], Tsuji, Eduardo Akira [UNESP], Faria Paes, Maria do Carmo [UNESP], Ribeiro Dias Koberstein, Teresa Cristina [UNESP], Okada Nakaghi, Laura Satiko [UNESP]
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• DOI: 10.1590/S1806-92902015000400005
• Texto Completo: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-35982015000400161&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/129194
• topic: Fertility; Quality of gametes; Reproduction traits

In this study we examined the effects of the maternal age on the fecundity (absolute and relative), egg production, and fertilization rates of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Females were divided into three groups: Group 1 (6 years old), Group 2 (3 years old), and Group 3 (8 months old). Males of eight months were used in all groups. Twice a week, the females'mouths were examined, and if they had eggs, these were removed and transferred to 2-L incubators. No difference was observed in the absolute fecundity between the different maternal age groups. Relative fecundity and egg production was greater in Group 3 (8 months) and fertilization rates were lower in Group 1 (6 years). Younger tilapias are more viable for egg production, because they have better reproductive indexes.