The influence of incubation salinity on the buoyancy of red drum eggs and yolk sac larvae

• Published in: Journal of Fish Biology
• Main Authors: Ponwith, B. J., Neill, W. H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1995
• Subjects: Red drum
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1995.tb01400.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1095-8649.1995.tb01400.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1995.tb01400.x

Fertilized eggs of red drum were harvested from a hatchery spawning tank at 28 ppt salinity in one trial and 32 ppt salinity in another. Eggs were apportioned among incubation chambers maintained at four salinities—a control at the spawning salinity, and three treatments: (1) the salinity at which the eggs were neutrally buoyant, this being 21 and 23 ppt for trials one and two, respectively; (2) 17 ppt; and (3) 25 ppt. For each treatment, the neutral‐buoyancy salinity for the eggs and developing larvae was measured over time and compared with that of the control. Values for none of the treatments differed significantly from the control in the first trial, but the 17 and 23 ppt treatments yielded values significantly different from the control in the second trial. Neutral buoyancy for each set of control eggs also varied significantly over time. The differences between the treatments and the control and between the two controls were most pronounced after the eggs hatched.