• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.449-458
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• 2013

This study investigated purplish Washington clam, Saxidomus purpuratus on its gonadal development, reproductive cycle and shell length (age) at 50% female group maturity from January to December 2011 in Jinhae Bay, Korea. This species is dioecious. The gonad index (GI) began to increase in January, reached the maximum value in May and to decrease in June, reached the minimum value in September then to increase slowly in October again. The reproductive cycle of the clams can be divided into five successive stages: the early active stage (Ea, from February to March), the late active stage (La, from January to March and October to December), the ripe stage (R, from January to May), the spawning stage (S, from June to December) and the degenerative and inactive stage (Ia, from January to February and November to December). The spawning periods were from June to December and the main spawning periods were from July to October. The shell length at 50% female group maturity (SL50) was estimated to be 63.6 mm, which can be converted as sexual maturity age of 2.2 year.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.50-56
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• 2020

Determination of the precise size at sexual maturity is very important for science-based stock assessment and fisheries resource management. In this study, two different models, (1) a visual method and (2) a gonadosomatic index (GSI) method, were employed to estimate length at sexual maturity of the small yellow croaker Larimichthys polyactis in the Yellow Sea of Korea. The visual method is a common qualitative method using visual gonadal identification. Conversely, the GSI method is a quantitative method using the GSI, which can be easily and precisely collected. We compared results from these methods to determine the best approach, and to examine the practicality of the GSI method. Logistic regression of the maturity ogive was conducted using a general linear model (GLM) with the R statistics program. Also, the bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals of all estimates were calculated. The best-fit model was the visual method (R_Mc²=0.805, AUC=0.989, L₅₀=15.1). Among models using the GSI method, the model computing GSI_ref=0.94 was the best-fit model (R_Mc²=0.792, AUC=0.989, L₅₀=15.2). There was no significant difference between the two models, evidencing the effectiveness and accuracy of the GSI method.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.277-283
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• 1993

In the present study, observations were made on the life-history of Lymnaea viridis under laboratory conditions, involving incubation period of the eggs and their hatching rate, shell length of the newly hatched snails, sexual maturity, size of the snails when the snail produced the first egg-mass, the number of eggs in each egg-mass, egg-laying, ovipostion, growth rate of the snails, and longevity of the snail. At temperatures between $19.8^{\circ}C$ to $22.5^{\circ}C$, incubation period of the eggs occupied 10~12 days, and after beginning of hatching, all young snails emerged completely from the egg-mass within 5 days. The hatching rate was 88%. The average shell length of the newly hatched snails was about 0.064cm. The rate of growth was extraordinarily rapid under good laboratory conditions. When two snails were reared in one culture vessel($20{\times}15{\times}5cm$) with blue-green algae at about $22^{\circ}C$, snail growth was optimal, taking 37 days to reach 1.2cm in shell length. Sexual maturity reached in about 19 days. The size of the snails at sexual maturity was $0.78{\pm}0.05cm$ in length and $0.47{\pm}0.04cm$ in width. The first egg-masses produced were $0.59{\pm}0.22cm$ in length and $0.34{\pm}0.08cm$ in width, and contained 7~38 eggs. The eggs are usually laid in water. The egg-laying was affected by food and temperature. Snails fed with blue-green algae at about $22^{\circ}C$ produced larger egg-masses than the snails fed with fish food at about $26^{\circ}C$. Under conditions of continuous activity and growth, the maximum expectation of life appears to be 109~350(mean 230) days. And the shell length of snails at death were 1.39~1.64cm.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.98-102
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• 2020

We examined the comparative spawning ecology of daggertooth pike conger Mureanesox cinereus and common pike conger M. bagio in the South Sea of Korea from May 2018 to December 2019. In the South Sea of Korea, the mean total length (TL) of M. cinereus was significantly smaller than that of M. bagio. The sex ratios of both species were skewed toward females. The spawning period of M. cinereus was from June to October, while the spawning period of M. bagio was from August to October. The lengths at 50%, 75%, and 97.5% sexual maturity of M. cinereus females were estimated as 54.6 cm, 60.4 cm, and 74.1 cm TL, respectively. It was not possible to estimate lengths at sexual maturity for M. bagio in the South Sea of Korea due to the absence of immature stages.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.227-234
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• 2007

Spermatogenesis, the reproductive cycle, and the size at first sexual maturity in male Mactra chinensis were investigated by cytological and histological observations. The spermatozoon exhibits a primitive type morphology and is similar to those of other bivalves in that it contains a short midpiece with four mitochondria surrounding the centrioles. The morphologies of the sperm nucleus type and the acrosome shape of this species are cylindrical and modified cap-like, respectively. The spermatozoon is approximately $40-45\;{\mu}m$ in length including the sperm nucleus (about $1.46\;{\mu}m$), acrosome (about $1.20\;{\mu}m$) and tail flagellum. The axoneme of the sperm tail flagellum consists of nine pairs of microtubules at the periphery and a pair at the center. The axoneme of the sperm tail shows a 9+2 structure. The spawning period of this species lasts from June to September, and the main spawning occurs in July and August, when the seawater temperature is greater than $20^{\circ}C$. The percentage of individual male clams at first sexual maturity was 56.5% for those whose shell lengths were 35.1-40.0 mm, and 100% for over 45.1 mm. Accordingly, harvesting clams <35.1 mm in shell length could potentially cause a drastic reduction in recruitment, and a measure indicating a prohibitory fishing size should be taken for adequate fisheries management.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2022

This study was performed to obtain information on the sex ratio, size at sexual group maturity, and main spawning period of Glyptocephalus stelleri. The sex ratio (female: male) was 1:0.54 (n=189:103, 64.7% female), and the frequency of females in the population tended to increase with total length. The oocyte development pattern was group synchronous development, in which oocyte groups at different stages were identified within the same ovary. The total length at 50% sexual group maturity was analyzed using a logistic regression model, and was determined to be 28.51 (female) and 30.49 cm (male). The gonadosomatic index (GSI) displayed the highest values in April (female) and March (male), and the main spawning period being in April to May.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.313-323
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• 2013

Gonad development, the reproductive cycle, first sexual maturty and size at 50% of group sexual maturity (the biological minimum size) of Gomphina (Macridiscus) veneriformis were investigated for clams collected from the coastal waters of Donghae City, the East Sea of Korea by histological, and morphometric analysis. Monthly variations of the gonad index showed a pattern similar to that of the reproductive cycle. The reproductive cycle with the gonad developmental stages in female and male G. (M.) veneriformis can be classified into five successive stages: early active stage (December to March), late active stage (March to June), ripe stage (June to July), partially spawned stage (June to August), and spent / inactive stage (September to December). The spawning period continued from June to August, with a peak between July and August when the seawater temperature exceeds $20^{\circ}C$. The percentages of first sexual maturities of female and male clams ranging from 25.1 to 30.0 mm were 56.3% in females and 61.1% in males, and for clams over 30.1 mm shell length, it was 100%. Shell lengths at 50% of group sexual maturity (biological minimum size, $RM_{50}$) were 27.71 mm in females and 26.31 mm in males. Because harvesting clams < 26.31 mm in shell length could potentially cause a drastic reduction in recruitment, a measure indicating a prohibitory fishing size should be taken for adequate fisheries management.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.92-99
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• 2009

Population dynamics and sexual maturity of Neomysis japonica (Ishikawa and Oshima, 1951) were investigated from a shrimp farm in Tae-an, Korea. N. japonica was collected monthly at the shrimp farm belonging to the Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, the Soonchunhyang University from October 2002 to September 2003. The proportion of female was higher than that of male. The mean carapace length of male (2.42 mm) was larger than that of female (2.31 mm). Brood size increased with increasing female body size. The size of N. japonica at 50% sexual maturity was approximately 4.4 mm. N. japonica females grew faster and reached larger size than males. The mortality rate (z) calculated by length-converted catch curves was $3.46\;yr^{-1}$. The annual recruitment pattern of N. japonica had two major peaks. Log-transformed total length was significantly related with log-transformed carapace length.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.21 no.2 s.34
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• pp.95-105
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• 2005

Gonadosomatic index, reproductive cycle, spermatogenesis and first sexual maturity of Chlamys farreri were investigated by cytological and histological observations, from January 1998 to December 1999. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) rapidly increased in April and reached a maximum in May when seawater temperature rapidly increase. Then the GSI gradually decreased from June to August when spawning occur. Accordingly, monthly changes in the GSI in males coincide with the reproductive cycle. The spermatozoon of Chlamys farreri is the primitive type found in external fertilization species. The head of the spermatozoon is approximately $2.75{\mu}m$ in length including the acrosome measuring about $0.50{\mu}m$ in length, and its tail was approximately $20{\mu}m$, the axoneme of the tail flagellum consists of nine pairs of microtubules at the periphery and a pair at the center. Five spherical mitochondria around the centriole (the satellite body) appear in the middle piece of the sperm. The spawning period was from June to August and the main spawning occurs from July to August when seawater temperatures are greater than $20^{\circ}C$ The reproductive cycle of this species can be categorized into five successive stages; early active stage (January to March), late active stage (March to April), ripe stage (April to August), partially spawned stage (June to August), and spent/inactive stage (August to January). Over 50% of male scallops attained first sexual maturity between 50.0 and 60.0 mm in shell height, and 100% of those over 60.0 mm in shell height achieved maturity. Accordingly, we assume that male individuals begin reproduction at three years of age.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.34.1-34.13
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• 2018

Sexual maturity ($L_{50}$), the length at which 50% of fish in a size class are mature, is a key aspect of domestication of new fish species because it guides the procedure for identification of appropriate broodstock size for artificial spawning. In this study, the $L_{50}$ was determined for 1083 Barbus altianalis samples obtained from Lake Edward and the Upper Victoria Nile. Gonads of freshly killed samples were examined macroscopically and verified with standard histological procedures for the maturation stages that were used to determine $L_{50}$. Oocytes and spermatogenic cell sizes were compared for fish obtained from both water bodies. Results indicated that there were no variations in macro gonad features observed for fish from Lake Edward and Upper Victoria Nile. Similarly, there were no significant differences in oocyte sizes (P > 0.05) between the two populations but significant differences in spermatogenic cell sizes were noted (P < 0.05) except for spermatozoa (P > 0.05). This however did not suggest peculiar differences between the two populations for staging the gonads. Consequently, no staging variations were suggested for both populations in determination of $L_{50}$. Sexual maturity was found in the same class size of fork length (FL) 20-24.9 cm and 35-39.9 cm for males and females from both water bodies, respectively. At this FL, however, males were too small, and for good selection of vigor broodstocks for spawning and conservation purposes, they are better picked from class size of 30-34.9 cm FL and above. These findings were crucial for integration of appropriate breeding size in spawning protocol by farmers and fisheries scientists conserving wild B. altianalis populations.