New insights in oocyte dynamics shed light on the complexities associated with fish reproductive strategies.

ABSTRACT: Information on temporal variations in stock reproductive potential (SRP) is essential in fisheries management. Despite this relevance, fundamental understanding of egg production variability remains largely unclear due to difficulties in tracking the underlying complex fluctuations in early oocyte recruitment that determines fecundity. We applied advanced oocyte packing density theory to get in-depth, quantitative insights across oocyte stages and seasons, selecting the commercially valuable European hake (Merluccius merluccius) as a case study. Our work evidenced sophisticated seasonal oocyte recruitment dynamics and patterns, mostly driven by a low-cost predefinition of fecundity as a function of fish body size, likely influenced also by environmental cues. Fecundity seems to be defined

SUBMITTER: Serrat A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6895218 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature