Spermatological parameters of wild and cultured beluga (Huso huso Linnaeus, 1758) and their effects on fertilization rate, hatching rate, larval growth and survival rates

To compare the reproductive performance of the wild and cultured stocks of beluga¡ Huso huso males¡ some spermatological parameters were measured including: sperm motility¡ sperm density¡ spermatocrit and also fertilization rate¡ hatching rate and larval growth and survival rates. The semen samples were sampled from 11 wild spawners and 12 cultured brooders. A half of each semen sample was allocated for spermatological analysis and remaining were used for artificial propagation. In wild beluga¡ sperm motility time was 339.09  23.11 s; spermatozoa motility rate 83.64  2.01%; sperm density 15.22  3.46 ×109 and spermatocrit 5.88  1.36% while in cultured beluga¡ sperm motility time was 199.35  29.02 s; spermatozoa motility rate 74.22  2.4 %; sperm density 8.37  0.24 ×109 and spermatocrit 3.21  0.29 %. The fertilization rate (%)¡ hatching rate (%)¡ larval growth (% g.day1). and survival rate (%) in wild beluga were 61.72  14.16¡ 43.33  11.13¡ 12.28  0.33 and 52.66  7.77¡ while in cultured beluga were 49.98  6.55¡ 31.47  8.49¡ 12.28  0.62 and 57.37  7.89 respectively. The spermatozoa motility (the ratio and duration of motility) were significantly different between wild and cultured brooders (P 0.05).