Elsevier

Fish Physiology

Volume 19, 2001, Pages 225-270
Fish Physiology

Reproductive biology of tunas

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1546-5098(01)19007-2Get rights and content

Publisher Summary

This chapter elaborates the different aspects of the reproductive biology of tunas. Tunas are predominantly dioecious and there is no sexual dimorphism in their external morphological characters. Tunas are oviparous, have asynchronous oocyte development, and are considered to be multiple or batch spawners, shedding their gametes directly into the sea, where egg fertilization occurs. The reproductive characteristics of a stock, along with those of growth and mortality, are among the most important factors in determining the regenerative ability of a population. Most studies of gonadal development in tunas, intended to describe maturation and spawning distributions, have been based on ovaries and have utilized various formulations of the gonosomatic index for the classification of condition. Oogenesis begins with the proliferation of oogonia by mitotic divisions within the oogonial nest, which become primary oocytes. The oocytes considered within this developmental category are unyolked. It is found that the initial primary oocyte has a relatively narrow, densely staining basophilic cytoplasm and a large clear nucleus.

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