Seasonal relationships of relative weight to body composition in white crappie, Pomoxis annularis Rafinesque

Abstract

. White crappies, Pomoxis annularis Rafinesque, were collected from two Texas reservoirs during pre-spawn, post-spawn, and autumn periods to evaluate seasonal relationships of relative weight (Wr) to body composition. Seasonal variations in Wr corresponded to cycles of lipid as a percentage of body weight. Lipid content and liver weight as percentages of total body weight of crappies from a population where individuals had high Wr values were consistently higher than corresponding values for crappies from a population where individuals had low Wr values. During autumn, lipid content, and liver and gonad tissue as percentages of body weight were positively correlated with Wr, and moisture and protein were inversely related to Wr. Percentage of mature eggs was positively correlated to Wr in pre-spawn crappies.