A mesocosm experiment investigating the effects of substratum quality and wave exposure on the survival of fish eggs

• Published in: Aquatic sciences Vol. 72; no. 4; pp. 509 - 517
• Main Authors: Stoll, Stefan, Probst, Wolfgang Nikolaus, Eckmann, Reiner, Fischer, Philipp
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel SP Birkhäuser Verlag Basel 01.09.2010; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abramis brama; Agnatha. Pisces; Animal and plant ecology; Animal reproduction; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Aquatic sciences; Autoecology; Biofilms; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Ecology; Fish; Fish eggs; Fresh water ecosystems; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hatching; Life Sciences; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Oceanography; Reproduction; Research Article; Shallow water; Spawning; Surface waves; Survival; Synecology; Vertebrata; Egg attachment; Egg survival; Common bream; Surface waves; Spring water level increase; Periphytic biofilm; Mesocosm; Common bream Abramis brama; Experimental study; Survival; Freshwater environment; Substrate; Aquatic environment; Vertebrata; Pisces; Quality; Biofilm; Fish egg; Sea surface wave; Breaking zone; Abramis brama
• ISSN: 1015-1621; 1420-9055
• DOI: 10.1007/s00027-010-0152-9

In a mesocosm experiment, the attachment of bream ( Abramis brama ) eggs to spawning substrata with and without periphytic biofilm coverage and their subsequent survival with and without low-intensity wave exposure were investigated. Egg attachment was reduced by 73% on spawning substrata with a natural periphytic biofilm, compared to clean substrata. Overall, this initial difference in egg numbers persisted until hatching. The difference in egg numbers was even increased in the wave treatment, while it was reduced in the no-wave control treatment. Exposure to a low-intensity wave regime affected egg development between the two biofilm treatments differently. Waves enhanced egg survival on substrata without a biofilm but reduced the survival of eggs on substrata with biofilm coverage. In the treatment combining biofilm-covered substrata and waves, no attached eggs survived until hatching. In all treatments, more than 75% of the eggs became detached from the spawning substrata during the egg incubation period, and <1% of these detached eggs survived within the substratum interstices. Hence, detached eggs contributed little to the reproductive success we observed. The implications of these results on the spawning success of fish species that use freshly inundated spawning substrata in shallow waters are discussed.