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Comparison of Cultured and Wild Sheepshead Minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) Health Condition Metrics
Citation:
RUTTER, H., M. J. NORBERG, AND S. RAIMONDO. Comparison of Cultured and Wild Sheepshead Minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) Health Condition Metrics. GULF OF MEXICO SCIENCE. Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island, AL, , 60-64, (2012).
Impact/Purpose:
To compare four standard health condition metrics between cultured and wild caught sheepshead minnow. The differences in stressors experienced by wild and cultured fish and the potential influence of ambient conditions on overall individual health may cause toxicant affects measured on laboratory-cultured fish to underestimate effects to wild populations.
Description:
Four standard health condition metrics (hepatosomatic index, HSI; gonadosomatic index, GSI; fecundity, condition factor) were compared between cultured and wild caught sheepshead minnow (Cyrprinodon variegatus) to determine if laboratory cultured were representative of wild populations. Wild fish were more robust than cultured fish but yielded fewer eggs per female per unit body weight and lower HSI and GSI. Interpretation of toxicity test results should consider higher reproductive and individual fitness of test fish when applied to wild populations.