Annual Developmental Cycle of Gonads of European Perch Females (<I>Perca fluviatilis</I> L.) from Natural Sites and a Canal Carrying Post-cooling Water from the Dolna Odra Power Plant (NW Poland)

Abstract

The European perch is a species endowed with high adaptation capabilities as regards different environmental conditions. The aim of the study was to analyse the annual developmental cycle of ovaries of the European perch from the Oder river, Lake Dąbie and a drainage canal (Warm Canal) carrying post-cooling water from the Dolna Odra power plant (annual average water temperature in the canal is higher by 6-8°C than the water of the other sampling sites). Most of the female perch caught in the canal carrying post-cooling water had immature stage 2 gonads (delayed development of the gonads) and were smaller than the fish from the other sites. No traces of spawning in the form of deposed egg strings were found in the drainage canal. Adult individuals avoid high temperatures found in the Warm Canal. In April, in perch from all sites, ovaries with post-spawning oocytes were observed. The spawning season of the females lasted from the beginning of April until May. Stage 4 of gonad development, with oocytes in advanced vitellogenesis, was the longest and ranged from September through February.