Aquaculture 2022

February 28 - March 4, 2022

San Diego, California

ULTRASOUND IMAGING: AN INSTRUMENTAL REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR TILAPIA BROODSTOCK MANAGMENT

Jasmine Iniguez* and Noel D. Novelo, Ph.D.

School of Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences,

College of Agriculture, Community, and the Sciences

 Kentucky State University

 Frankfort, KY 40601

jasmine.iniguez@kysu.edu

 



Ultrasonography interconverts electric and acoustic energy to create a gray-scale image of internal anatomy for diagnostic procedures .  Since the early 1980s ultrasonography has been  conducted  on a variety of important fish species such as salmon, catfish, sturgeon, and bass to  identify  sex and  to evaluate  gonadal development. Understanding  the reproductive cycle  is crucial for  management of broodstock and increased control of  fish  reproduction.  Female Nile T ilapia are asynchronous spawners ( follicles in all stages of development present in ovary). This hinders broodstock from spawning at the same time . Non-invasive methods for assessing and monitoring tilapia reproductive biology are limited. Ultrasonography provides a real-time and safe method for monitoring, evaluating and segregating broodstock females based on ovarian development. S ystematic  fish handling  and ultrasound imaging procedures  and interpretation guide based on the ovarian cycle for Nile Tilapia was developed at Kentucky State University .  This  will be used to develop educational material s to  provide  training  to  hatcheries  for improving  broodstock management, spawning synchronization, and hatchery productivity (Figure 1). F emale broodstock c an be grouped and separated  into a scheme of  tanks based on ultrasound imaging  and the ovarian cycle . This will be instrumental for ease of egg production that is predictable, reduces fish handling and labor, and  uses time and space affectively for increasing reproductive efficiency and hatchery productivity .