How do long-term effects of temperature influence sex ratio, somatic and gonadal development in juvenile sterlet (Acipenser ruthenusL.)-An additional climate change consequence?

Abstract

In this paper, the effects of temperature on the production performance values, as well as on sex differentiation and gonad development, of juvenile sterlet were investigated. For this purpose, fry were reared in the recirculating aquaculture system at three different temperatures (15, 20, and 25°C) in four replicate groups each for 140 days (10–150 dph). Fish were fed mainly with commercial diet. The growth rate in this period was significantly affected by temperature. The best performance values in terms of daily growth rate, thermal growth coefficient, and yield were registered at 20°C, indicating that this value to be near, or close to, the optimal for juvenile sterlet. Gonad samples were taken for histological analysis which revealed that the increased temperature did not cause significant differences in the sex ratio between treatments, but at 25°C resulted in significant deviation from the theoretically expected 1:1 gender ratio to favouring males. We have also found that increased temperature at 25°C accelerated germ cell development. These results indicate that rearing of sterlet juveniles at about 20°C temperature could be considered optimal both from aquaculture, as well as from species conservation viewpoints.