Spermatic motility of the semen of lane snapper, Lutjanus synagris

Abstract

Spermatic motility is a first requisite for determining the quality and fertilizing ability of semen in fishes, and several parameters have been used to evaluate it. The most commonly parameter used has been the motility duration, which is the period between activation and stopping of sperm activity. The aim of this work was to characterize the semen of lane snapper, Lutjanus synagris, regarding its motility in fresh and refrigerated samples, and the motility period. The spermatic motility was analyzed through two treatments: TA–Gonads at room temperature (25ºC) and TR–Refrigerated Gonads (4ºC). For each treatment the spermatic motility was observed every twenty minutes during a three-hour time interval. The period of motility was accessed through stopwatch initiated together with the semen samples activation and the pH measured with graduated stripes. The mean spermatic motility percentage of the refrigerated gonads (TR, 4ºC) in the first hour was 51.7% while the one for those room stored (TA, 25ºC) was 21.7%. These results suggest that the refrigerating technique extends the spermatic viability. The period of motility fluctuated from 62 to 135s, which was regarded as a high value. The measured pH was 8.0.