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Characterization of reproduction of Mozambique Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus, Peters 1852).

Inês H. Silva1 and Raul J. Silvério Bernardino1, 2*
  • 1 MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, Portugal
  • 2 LSRE/LCM - Laboratório de Processos de Separação e Reacção, Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, Portugal

Tilapias are emerging as one of the most important fish in worldwide aquaculture because they are highly prolific and tolerant to a range of environmental conditions. They are also known as the ‘aquatic chicken’ because of their potential as an affordable, high-yield source of protein that can be easily raised in a range of environments – from subsistence or ‘backyard’ units to intensive fish hatcheries (Canonico et al., 2005). Tilapias are also widely used as model fish in the study of reproduction and behavior (Golan and Levavi-Sivan, 2013). During the reproductive season, males tilapia are highly territorial and form spawning pits in which the dominant males court and spawn with available females (Amorim et al., 2003; Oliveira and Almada, 1998; Webb and Maughan, 2007). Three groups consisting of tilapia individuals, Oreochromis mossambicus, were observed for a period of 6 months and registered their reproductive behavior, number of times females have reproduced per group and number of fry born during this time. Each group had different sex ratios (male:female),namely, 1:3, 1:4 and 2:2. All groups were kept at 27 ± 1 ºC under a photoperiod of 12h light/12h dark (Huertas et al., 2014; Oliveira, 1995). At the end of the experimental work it was found that reproduction in Groups 1 and 2 occured during 6 months and the best sex ratio was 1:3 (male:female). It was observed that females that lay eggs more often have a lower number of fry per posture and female with greater time intervals between each posture produce a greater number of fry. For any of these options the fry mortality rate was very low. These results suggest that the reproduction of Mozambique Tilapia is achieved with great success when the optimal conditions are provided, temperature being one of the most important factors.

References

Amorim, M.C.P.A., Fonseca, P.J., Almada, V.C. (2003). Sound production during courtship and spawning of Oreochromis mossambicus: male – female and male – male interactions. Journal of Fish Biology. 62: 658 – 672.

Canonico, G.C., Arthington, A., McCary, J.K., Thieme, M.L. (2005). The effects of introduced tilpaias on native biodiversity. Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosystm. 15: 463 – 483.

Golan, M., Levavi-Sivan, B. (2013). Social dominance in tilapia is associated with gonadotroph hyperplasia. General and Comparative Endocrinology. 192: 126 – 135.

Huertas, M., Almeida, O.G., Canário, A.V.M., Hubbard, P.C. (2014). Tilapia male urinary pheromone stimulates female reproductive axis. General and Comparative Endocrinology. 196: 106 – 111.

Oliveira, R.F.N.P. (1995). Etologia Social e Endocrinologia Comportamental da Tilápia Oreochromis mossambicus (Teleostei, Cichlidae) – Dissertação de tese de Doutoramento. Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa. Lisboa, Portugal.

Oliveira, R.F. and Almada, V.C. (1998). Dynamics of social interactions during group formation in males of the cichlid fish Oreochromis mossambicus. Acta Ethologica. Vol.1 (1-2), pp. 57 – 70.

Keywords: Oreochromis Mossambicus, Reproduction, Fry, Aquaculture, Behavior, Animal

Conference: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2016, Peniche, Portugal, 14 Jul - 15 Jul, 2016.

Presentation Type: Poster presentation

Topic: Aquaculture

Citation: Silva IH and Silvério Bernardino RJ (2016). Characterization of reproduction of Mozambique Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus, Peters 1852).. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2016. doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2016.04.00046

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Received: 28 Apr 2016; Published Online: 13 Jul 2016.

* Correspondence: Prof. Raul J Silvério Bernardino, MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, Peniche, 2520–641, Portugal, raul.bernardino@ipleiria.pt