The Study of Seasonal Morphological Changes in Gonads of the

Clupisoma Garua.

By

Sher Hameed

Department of Zoology
Kohat University of Sciences & Technology, Kohat-26000
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
INTRODUCTION

Fish are aquatic, cold blooded vertebrates respire through gills. Fish show all activities like

breathing, feeding, movement, reproduction, and sense like other vertebrates. There are about

8000 fish species are present in the fresh waters of the world including lakes and rivers.

Approximately 193 native species are reported in the fresh water of Pakistan constitute of

some important groups such as loaches, carps, catfishes etc. (Mirza, 2009; Zafar et al. 2013).

Among these 29 fish species are present in the cold waters of the northern areas of the

country. Most of the cold water species restricted to Trans Himalayan region of the Indus

system.

With the increase in human population the demand of food is also increasing. To overcome

this food demand we need to reproduce the food animals artificially or naturally in confined

areas or in wild. Aquaculture and fisheries has experienced a twelve time increase in last

three decades in food fish production, making the fish industry one of the fastest growing

food industries. Fish is an important source animal protein. To overcome the shortage of food

and to get high level of fish production; understanding of the biology of different

economically important fish species is highly required. Although a lot of research has been

done on fish life but still there is a need of improvement in many aspects. Reproductive

behavior in fishes is one of the most important factor which helps in their management and

conservation. The knowledge of fecundity in female and fertility in male is very important to

understand the life history of an animal. Fecundity means the egg laying capacity of a fish or

the production of ripe eggs produced by a fish in spawning season while fertility is the ability

of sperm to fertilize an egg.

To understand fish reproduction it is essential to consider the fact that information on size

at maturity, spawning season, fecundity and sex ratio is fundamental for accurate stock

assessments (Caddy and Mahon 1995). Environmental extremes faced by fishes in tropical

flood-plain river systems take them from ‘feast’ during high water to ‘famine’ during low

water when competition for resources becomes intense (Arringto et al., 2006). When

resources are plentiful, many fishes will store fat energy subcutaneously, in the abdominal

cavity (coelom), liver and muscles (Junk, 1985). These lipid stores can then be utilized not

only to survive a period during which resources are scarce but also to build up gonads in

preparation for a return of the rainy season (Brito and Bazzoli, 2003).

Catfish is considered as the cheapest source of high quality animal protein as well as it is

rich in calcium, phosphate, iodine and vitamins (Dadzie et al., 1980). Clupisoma garua

commonly known as bacha/ garua-bacha/ garua-bachcha is a freshwater catfish species which

is widely distributed in different countries of Indian subcontinent (Gupta et al., 2016). It is a

popular table fish as having good taste and very less intramuscular bones. It is also a popular

game fish and recently has also made its entry in ornamental fish markets. Clupisoma garua

mainly inhabits large rivers and reservoirs; though has also been reported from stagnant

impoundments. It is a bottom and marginal dweller (Chondar 1999). In Hooghly River, it has

been reported to inhabit both the freshwater zone as well as the estuarine region

(Gopalakrishnan 1971). Male and the female Clupisoma garua can be easily identified with

the secondary sexual character developed during the breeding season (Chondar, 1999). This

species inhabits fluviatile habitats, particularly in larger rivers with a sandy or muddy bottom.

In Pakistan this species is present in the upper and lower water stream of river Indus and its

tributaries. Because this species is heavily utilized as a food fish, overfishing is a potential

major threat. To overcome the decline there is a need to understand the reproductive biology

of this species so it can be reproduces under confined environment. In view of previous

finding the present research has been designed under the following objective.

Objective:

Study the seasonal morphological changes in gonads of the Clupisoma garu

MATERIALS AND METHODS

SAMPLING SITE

The sampling will be done from the river Indus and its tributaries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,

Pakistan. Mature fishes will be collected and transported to the aquaculture and fisheries

laboratory, Department of Zoology Kohat university of science and technology.

MEASUREMENTS

The male and female individuals will be separated and body parameters will be measured viz.

Total body weight and total body length to compare the seasonal variation in body size. The

weight, length and width of the testes and ovaries ( right and left) will be recorded to compare

the seasonal morphological changes in gonads.

GONADOSOMATIC INDEX

Gonadosomatic index (GSI) of the collected samples were determined by using the following

formula

GSI = Weight of the gonads x 100

Weight of the fish

MICROSCOPIC PARAMETERS

TESTIS:

The microscopic parameters of testis will be studied. After removal of the tunica vaginalis

and epididymis, small pieces of the tissue, approximately 5mm thick, will be taken from

middle portion of the testis and fixed in Bouin’s fixative solution till processed for paraffin

embedding technique as described by Bancroft et al. (1990). Tissue sectioning will be

performed by rotary microtome; 5μm thick sections will be stained with hematoxylin and

eosin for seasonal morphometric studies under Meiji-MT 4300 H (Japan) light microscope.

Morphometric parameters will be worked out with the help of following formulae (Johnson

and Neaves, 1981):

 Testis weight (g) / testis density 1.052 g/cm3

The volume occupied by 10 seminiferous tubules cross sections will be calculated by the

formula

Vst= π ×h × (d2/4)

Where (h) will be the section thickness (5μm) and (d) will be the tubule diameter (µm) as

described by Moura and Erickson (1997).

OVARIES

The ovarian samples will be washed with the distilled water and after giving small incision

on the surface of ovary; the sections will be taken from anterior, middle and posterior parts

and transferred to Bouin’s fixative solution till processed for paraffin embedding technique as

described by Bancroft et al. (1990). Tissue sectioning will be performed by rotary

microtome; 5μm thick sections will be stained with hematoxylin and eosin for recording the

seasonal morphological changes in the ovary under Meiji-MT 4300 H (Japan) light

microscope. The developing, mature, atretic and post-ovulatory follicles will be observed and

recorded.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

The recorded data will be analyzed by using appropriate statistical methods to evaluate the

seasonal morphological changes in the gonads of Clupisoma garua.

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