Journal of Marine Science: Research & Development
Open Access

Abstract

With the objective to produce seed in an aquaculture facility it was studied under laboratory conditions, the effect of sperm concentration and contact time between gametes to optimized fertilization success of the bivalve mollusk Tivela mactroides . Mature ovocites and sperm gotten through gonads dissection were artificially combined to produce fertilization. Solutions of 5.5 x 10 6 ovocites were fertilized with 10 different sperm concentrations. Results indicate that the percentage of succeed fertilization was low, highly variable and relying on the sperm concentration. The maximum mean percentage of fertilization was 22% between 1.3x10 7 and 1.6x10 7 spermatozoid.ml -1 . A strong fall in fertilization success was observed at sperm concentrations lower than 106 spermatozoid.ml -1 . The time elapsed before the first contact for fertilization that produced the highest fertilization rate was three hours, at sperm concentrations higher than 10 7 spermatozoids. ml -1 ). The highest fertilization percentage found in this study falls between the ranges reported for other bivalve mollusk species.

Biography

Yajaira Garc?a is a biologist that completed a Doctoral degree through a joined program between Texas A&M University, USA and Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela in 2005, and postdoctoral studies at the Florida Institute of Technology, USA (2010-2011). She is at present Executive Secretary of the Academic Board of the School of Experimental Sciences. She has published more than 50 scientific papers and attended to more than 100 congress, conferences and meetings around the world.